What I Learned Bringing Together 150 Roblox Industry Leaders at RDC 2025

By Stephen Dypiangco

This year’s Roblox Developers Conference was my third RDC — and my favorite yet. Each year gets better, with more valuable insights and more incredible people building in this space. I went so hard over several days that I completely wore myself out and spent the following week sick. Totally worth it.

Familiar Faces, New Connections

My personal highlight was getting to see so many colleagues and clients in person at the Max Power Gaming Industry Mixer. Over the past 3+ years I've been working in the Roblox space, I’ve met lots of folks only over Zoom and on LinkedIn. The mixer I organized gave me the chance to meet many people face-to-face for the very first time, including the good folks at Takara Tomy (makers of Beyblades) from Japan who I've worked with a lot with this year.

Being at my 3rd RDC made me reflect on my first RDC experience three years ago, when I barely knew anyone. At that event in San Francisco, I hosted a small mixer of only 15 people — and it was amazing to see some of those original attendees back again this year: Nic from Sawhorse, Erik from Karta, Naef Ba (formerly Sportfive), and the Freeground team.

During the Max Power Gaming mixer, one brand executive came up and told me my content had been personally meaningful and helpful in her career — something she had never shared with me before. I'm truly grateful for all of you who read this content, and I'm so happy when I hear it's helpful. Hearing this message in person was extra special.

A Bigger, Better Industry Mixer

This year’s Max Power Gaming industry mixer grew far beyond what I expected. When I first pitched the idea, I thought we’d see 100 RSVPs and maybe 30–50 attendees. Instead, we had 300 RSVPs and 150 people filling the room. We had developers, brand execs (toys, fashion, entertainment), studios, tool providers, investors, Fortnite creators, and influencer talent managers all under one roof.

Companies represented included Roblox, Moonbug, Voldex, Sawhorse, Nexon, Garena, Ubisoft, Night Media, Gameforge, Lionsgate, Paramount, Hugo Boss, Gamefam, Dubit, Karta, Live Nation, Dentsu, Warner Bros. Discovery, Do Big Studios, The Gang, Raine Group, Makers Fund, Wildbrain, United Talent Agency, Bonkers Toys, Miraculous Corp and more.

What stood out was the energy. People kept commenting about how great it was to have space like this for business professionals to talk shop about Roblox. I've personally wanted to see this setting created (because networking at RDC isn't as easy as you would think), and having it become a reality was deeply rewarding.

Huge Thanks to the Sponsors Who Made It Possible

Our awesome event wouldn’t have happened without our sponsors:

• Banana Studios – Our title sponsor and long-time collaborator of mine. Corin and his team have grown into a true Roblox powerhouse that works with top brands.

• GameAnalytics – Featured sponsor, and a partner I’ve worked with on two Roblox benchmark reports. Their team came to listen and learn from the community — an approach I respect deeply.

• Bounce – A rising startup that made productive connections at the mixer, which was great to see as they continue to scale their network of partner games.

I’m super grateful for their trust and support. They made it possible to pull this together.

Conversations That Mattered

In between the handshakes and introductions, real industry conversations were happening:

• The 8.5% increase in DevEx payouts — what it means for creators and the wider ecosystem. Developers were most excited about this development.

• Roblox Moments — TikTok-like video inside Roblox — and the implications for discovery on-platform and virality off-platform.

• Where Roblox fits into broader media and social trends, from UGC to influencer partnerships.

A Turning Point for Me

Organizing and hosting this industry mixer was a game changer for me personally. For the past couple of years, I’ve seen myself as a consultant with a newsletter. But this event showed me something bigger: I have the ability to bring this nascent, growing community together. I realized that I’m really building is the leading network of Roblox professionals — and that network grows stronger when we gather, share, and collaborate.

I’m energized to keep creating content, events, and opportunities for this network to thrive worldwide.

Looking Ahead at Future Industry Events

I’m already exploring what’s next — whether it’s at GDC, Playfronts, Kidscreen, SXSW, CES, SEG3, Licensing Expo, Ad Week, or even something independent. If you’re interested in bringing the Roblox industry together, please get in touch.

Together let's keep building the future of player engagement and UGC gaming.

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