Sept 6 (Reuters) - Roblox ( RBLX ) will roll out paid

videogames on its platform and allow developers to sell physical

merchandise through their created games, the company said on

Friday.

The video gaming company will add the ability to price

certain games, or what it calls experiences, in real currency

for desktops, it said at its developers conference. Roblox ( RBLX ) will

support a higher revenue share for the creators of up to 70%,

but it will vary with the price of the game.

Paid experiences will launch on personal computers later

this year, with plans to expand to all other devices in the

future, it said.

The move is a minor departure from Roblox's ( RBLX ) successful and

longstanding business model of free-to-play games, with a focus

on purchases of its in-game currency "Robux", which is used to

buy items such as cosmetics and collectibles inside the

company's digital worlds.

"By offering our new revenue shares for paid access

experiences, we're giving our existing creators another way to

earn on Roblox ( RBLX )," said Enrico D'Angelo, vice president of economy

at Roblox ( RBLX ).

Unlike traditional videogame companies, Roblox ( RBLX ) heavily

relies on user-generated content to drive engagement, rewarding

creators who make games that become popular and gain millions of

visits on the platform. The company said it paid more than $800

million to the creator community in the last 12 months.

Roblox ( RBLX ) has partnered with Shopify ( SHOP ) to allow

individual creators to sell physical merchandise directly from

their games early next year.

The company also has tieups with brands such as Walmart ( WMT )

and Elf Beauty ( ELF ) to launch stores within its

platform through which players can directly buy real products.

Roblox's ( RBLX ) efforts to expand monetization avenues could help

it navigate a challenging time for the gaming industry where an

uncertain macro economy weighs on discretionary budgets and

gamers stick to proven titles.