July 31 (Reuters) - Roblox ( RBLX ) raised its forecast

for annual bookings on Thursday and crossed the 100-million mark

in daily active users on its videogame platform as it rides on

the success of viral hits such as "Grow a Garden".

Many of the platform's games have become highly popular due

to their free-to-play nature and wide availability, drawing

millions of users across diverse age groups and demographics.

Average daily active users, a key measure of engagement,

grew 41% to 111.8 million in the second quarter, while hours

engaged jumped 58% to 27.4 billion.

A large portion of the engagement and bookings growth in the

second quarter came from "Grow a Garden", a tycoon-style game

which allows players to grow their plots of land by trading

seeds and plants.

In June, the game set a world record for the most concurrent

players to play a videogame, highlighting Roblox's ( RBLX ) reach across

geographies.

The company has been investing in search and discovery

features that allow greater visibility for games like "Grow a

Garden", with already healthy engagements, the company's newly

appointed CFO, Naveen Chopra, told Reuters.

In an uncertain economy, Roblox ( RBLX ) is diversifying its revenue

sources beyond gaming and turning the platform into a hub for

socializing, commerce and advertising.

Such efforts have excited investors, who have more than

doubled the company's shares so far this year, far outperforming

rival videogame publishers.

Roblox ( RBLX ) now expects fiscal 2025 bookings of between $5.87

billion and $5.97 billion, compared with its previous forecast

of $5.29 billion to $5.36 billion.

It forecast third-quarter bookings between $1.59 billion and

$1.64 billion, compared with an estimate of $1.35 billion,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

Bookings for the second quarter came in at $1.44

billion, beating market estimates of $1.24 billion.