David Baszucki and Erik Cassel built Roblox in 2004. But here's the thing, they didn't just wake up one day and decide to make a gaming platform. These guys were physics nerds who wanted kids to mess around with virtual blocks.
David Baszucki was the main brain. This dude ran a company called Knowledge Revolution back in 1989. They made physics simulation software for schools. Erik Cassel? He was the VP of Engineering. The technical wizard who made things actually work.
In 2004, they started working on something called DynaBlocks. Terrible name, right? That was what is Roblox now. They changed it in 2005 because DynaBlocks sounds like a knock-off LEGO set. Roblox? That's "robots" and "blocks" smashed together. Way better.
The timeline:
- 2004: Started building DynaBlocks
- 2005: Changed name to Roblox
- 2006: Opened to the public
Baszucki and Cassel weren't trying to build the next Minecraft. They wanted something different, a platform where kids could build their own games. Think about what Roblox is today. It's not one game. It's millions of games made by regular people.
Erik Cassel died in 2013 from cancer. He was only 45. Without Cassel, Roblox wouldn't exist. He built the technical foundation that millions of kids play on today.
Baszucki? Still running the show as CEO. Goes by "builderman" on Roblox. Worth billions now.
Most people don't get why it worked. Roblox succeeded because they didn't try to control everything. Other gaming companies say "Here's our game. Play it this way." Roblox said "Here's some blocks. Go crazy."
And kids went crazy. They built everything from obstacle courses to simulators where you work at a pizza place. Who saw that coming?