One common critical question lobbed towards web3 projects is: “yes, but why do you need the blockchain to do that?” The answers, of course, are multifarious and nuanced, and there are plenty of good reasons to use web3 tech. But it’s often the case that ideas don’t *need* to use web3 to work.
A fan club, for instance, can work very well without it being a DAO, and – as Roblox has apparently decided – limited edition virtual items don’t need to be NFTs.
Roblox creators can now sell virtual items and restrict the number of them available for sale, the company has announced. They’ll be called “Limiteds” and once they are bought, owners can then re-sell them – and the original creator will receive “a 10% original creator payout every time the item is resold.”
It certainly sounds a lot like how NFTs work, but it’s not: the scarcity, the reselling, and the payment splits are all controlled by the platform. Roblox are clearly keen that the Limited marketplace doesn’t become overrun with cash-in items, charging creators an upfront payment due before Limited items are published – which is then paid back to creators.
“When an item is sold, the creator will get this upfront payment back in proportion to the quantity of items sold. This additional payout comes out of Roblox’s platform share of 30%,” the Roblox website says.
Creators also have to apply to be able to make Limiteds, and there are already a number of Limited items listed in Roblox’s catalogue, such as this wearable golden capybara limited to 1000 in number and available for 400 Robux – approximately $5 in real-world money.
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