Roblox Plus is replacing the current Premium subscription, and it sounds like a big upgrade

Goodbye to Roblox Premium, hello to Roblox Plus. The way you pay for the creation sandbox game's bonus subscription model is changing at the end of April, and while you can stay on the old system if you want, you'll be losing benefits including bonus Robux. The good news is that the incoming Roblox Plus subscription actually sounds like a much better deal on the whole, giving you much more for its fixed five-dollar asking price.

Roblox Plus will be your only option going forward, as the ability to subscribe to Premium will be removed when the new system comes in on April 30. While you can continue an old sub, Plus offers a lot of welcome new features. You'll get a 10% discount on purchases such as in-game items, avatars, and more, which increases to 20% if you've kept the sub rolling for three consecutive months or longer. These savings are covered by Roblox, so creators will still earn the same amount per item sold as they would if you had paid full price.

Roblox Plus subscribers also get access to "free and unlimited private servers across all supported games," which is very welcome if you want to have a more secure online experience. This feeds back to creators too: they'll earn up to 100 Robux for every Roblox Plus user who spends a total of 60 minutes or more in their private server within a 30-day period. The developer says it will award these payments to the "five paid private servers where each Roblox Plus user spent the most time during the 30-day period."

Creators can also earn a bonus by inviting their players to sign up to the service. If a user subscribes to Roblox Plus from within a game that makes use of a new feature to prompt joining the paid tier, the creator will earn a bonus of 250 Robux per month. This will continue for up to three months in total (and thus 750 Robux) if the person remains an active subscriber.

As with the existing Premium service, you'll be able to trade items, but that's also been expanded. You can trade and resell avatar items, or publish and sell them on the Roblox Marketplace, but you can also transfer Robux to other players for free, with no transaction fees, even if the person you're sending it to isn't a Plus subscriber. To ensure this isn't easily abused, some extra security features have been put in place.

"To keep transfers secure, parent or caregiver approval is required every time younger users send or receive Robux," chief business officer Enrico D'Angelo explains. "Users must be age-checked and 18+ before they can send or receive without parental approval." He notes that these requirements "may continue to evolve over time, including to reflect regional requirements."

While it won't be available when Roblox Plus arrives, there will be similar optional extras "soon after launch" allowing you to bundle either 500, 1,000, or 2,000 Robux in with your monthly subscription. Expect these to be priced at much the same increase through the tiers as the existing Premium offering. The only old feature not mentioned is the 10% extra Robux on additional purchases, but this is being removed from the current plan anyway.

Roblox Plus launches on Thursday April 30, priced at $4.99 per month (or your regional equivalent). You'll no longer be able to sign up for the old Roblox Premium subscription, although existing subscribers can opt into a free one-month trial of the new model. From Saturday May 30, Roblox Premium will no longer include a 10% bonus on additional Robux purchases, but the monthly Robux and trade features will continue.

"Roblox Plus provides a new path for users who want to get more out of the platform and for creators looking for more ways to earn," D'Angelo says. "This launch is only the beginning. We are already developing new benefits to ensure that Roblox Plus continues to evolve alongside the community and enables more fun for years to come."