Roblox’s Rewarded Video Ads Move Down Funnel
- Stephen Dypiangco
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
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Roblox rewarded video ads are moving beyond awareness and into conversion.
Every few weeks, I log into Roblox with one specific goal: to see how rewarded video ads are evolving.
I’ve been excited about this ad unit since last summer, when rewarded video ads were still in private beta and only available to a limited set of developers. At the time, the format already felt promising, but it was clearly early.
Over the summer of '25, developer access to run rewarded video ads expanded gradually. More creators were added in late July, and by November 11, rewarded video ads became available to all eligible creators.
As Roblox has shifted creator access from controlled testing to broad availability, it makes sense that we're now starting to see new advertiser behavior and product testing.
Early Signals: Awareness-First Advertisers
Throughout last summer and early fall, I saw brands like Milk, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, and Venmo Teen running campaigns that felt clearly top-of-funnel. Venmo’s activity was especially notable because the brand was also active on Roblox via an integration campaign, suggesting a broader experimentation mindset.
In October, I spotted Amazon running a rewarded video ad with a clear call-to-action that allowed users to download the Amazon app. That was the first moment where rewarded video started to look like more than just an awareness play.
Still, at that point, the system felt early.
A Familiar Platform Move: Roblox House Ads
In mid-January, I checked rewarded video ads again and noticed something new: house ads from Roblox itself. These ads promoted Robux purchases, highlighting the ability to get up to 25% more Robux via Roblox gift cards.
From my background in television and ad-supported streaming, house ads are a familiar sight. Platforms often use them to promote internal products and to make use of inventory when advertiser demand hasn’t fully caught up to supply.
When a platform begins running house ads, it can mean inventory is scaling faster than demand, at least temporarily.
Two Weeks Later, a Clear Shift
By the end of January, the types of rewarded video ads I was seeing changed again.
Instead of house ads, I saw rewarded video ads from a much broader and more diverse group of advertisers:
H&R Block, timed ahead of tax season
Disney
Osmo Sea Salt
Reverb
Major Fitness
What stood out wasn’t just the volume of advertisers. It was how the ads were designed.
Every one of these campaigns included a click-out CTA to an external website destination (which was loaded in a Roblox browser that kept me on the platform):
H&R Block sent users to a Discord community (see image below)
Disney promoted its Disney Campaign Manager with a “Sign Up” button
Osmo Sea Salt linked directly to purchase at Walmart.com
Reverb and Major Fitness drove traffic to their own ecommerce sites
Although this was likely just an early advertising test, this marked a clear shift. These were no longer just awareness ads. They were designed to drive specific actions.
The Real Evolution: Measurement, Not Format
By testing conversion-focused rewarded video ads, Roblox isn’t just changing creative formats. It’s expanding what its ad system can meaningfully measure.
Historically, Roblox advertising has been evaluated primarily on:
Impressions and reach
Engagement metrics like time spent
What these newer ads suggest is that Roblox’s system is now capable of measuring:
Link clicks
Website traffic
Account creation
Potentially even purchases
These capabilities are standard on platforms like Meta and Google. But for Roblox, this represents a significant step forward. It moves the platform closer to supporting performance-oriented advertisers, not just brand awareness campaigns.
Targeting: One Experience, Two Audiences
Another interesting signal came from how relevant these ads felt to me personally.
Tax prep, advertising platforms, cooking, ecommerce, fitness. If I were grading relevance, I’d give these ads an A.
Out of curiosity, I showed the same ads to my 13-year-old daughter. They did not resonate with her at all.
The only ad that caught her attention at all was Disney’s, largely because it featured IP she already cares about.
This contrast suggests Roblox may be experimenting with:
Age-based or cohort-level targeting
Different ad experiences for different users
It’s impossible to say whether the system got lucky serving the right ads to me or is genuinely improving. But the direction is encouraging, especially as rewarded video becomes more widely adopted.
Repeat Advertisers Are the Strongest Signal
One additional data point worth highlighting: I’ve seen Riot Games’ Valorant return as a rewarded video advertiser running awareness campaigns.
Repeat spend matters more than first-time tests. It’s a stronger indicator that advertisers are seeing enough value to come back, especially on a relatively new ad unit.
What I’ll Be Watching Next
This is still an experiment in motion, not a finished product.
Over the coming months, I’ll be watching for:
Fewer house ads
More repeat advertisers
Increased ecommerce participation
Greater brand category diversity
More consistently claimed inventory
Rewarded video ads already work well for players and developers. Players opt in. Developers monetize without disrupting gameplay.
I'm excited to see Roblox testing whether that same format can support advertisers looking for real outcomes, not just reach.
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