Roblox goes public and kicks off its long-awaited direct listing

Roblox's long-awaited direct listing has finally arrived. The company officially listed on the New York Stock exchange this morning, though notably no additional stock will be issued as trading opens due to the fact that it did so under a direct listing.

The direct listing has been a long time coming. Rumors of an impending IPO started to pick up steam late last year and were made official when Roblox filed its S-1 with the SEC last November. In that document, Roblox disclosed the last several years of its earnings and gave both the rest of the industry and would-be investors a look at the company's finances.

Following that filing, Roblox raised an additional $520 million in investment prior to listing earlier this year, settled in at an estimated valuation of $29.5 billion, and revealed plans to pursue a direct listing rather than an IPO.

Roblox is far from the only major game company to go public recently. Most notably, game engine maker Unity kicked off its own IPO late last year. Companies like PUBG Studio parent Krafton have also shown interest in joining the world of publicly traded game companies this year, while other major players like Epic Games have shot down rumors of a potential IPO with comments that listing would destroy its independence.