Roblox hires top Amazon exec: Inside huge plan to get one billion users on the platform

The online gaming giant has appointed its first-ever chief growth officer as it faces falling user numbers and pushes for a major international expansion. The move is part of a wider strategy to attract older players and build a new, photorealistic universe.

A new face at the top

Roblox has made a major hire in its quest to unlock the next stage of growth, appointing former Amazon and Google executive John Ciancutti as its first-ever chief growth officer.

The online entertainment platform, which allows users to design and play millions of games, exclusively told Business Insider about the high-profile appointment. Ciancutti brings a wealth of experience from some of Silicon Valley's biggest names. He most recently led product and engineering for Amazon Music, and previously worked in senior product and strategy roles within Google's search division. 

His impressive CV also includes past work at both Meta and Netflix, positioning him as a veteran of building huge consumer products.

In his new role, Ciancutti is set to take charge of Roblox's crucial discovery team. This team works on the platform's powerful, TikTok-like algorithm that recommends games and experiences to users most likely to play them. He is also tasked with the huge responsibility of spearheading the company's international growth, including a significant and challenging expansion in China.

Navigating a crucial moment

Ciancutti joins the company at a pivotal time. Roblox recently lowered its 2026 revenue growth forecast as it prioritises a series of important safety improvements. These new measures, including a global rollout of mandatory age-verification checks for chat access, are designed to limit interactions between adults and children on the platform.

While these safety-focused changes are seen as vital for the platform's long-term health, they have reportedly had a short-term impact on user engagement.

According to company figures, the daily active user count fell slightly to 132 million in the first quarter of 2026, down from 144 million in the prior quarter and a peak of 152 million earlier in 2025. Despite this dip, revenue for the quarter still grew an impressive 39% to $1.4 billion.

Building a global dream team

The appointment is part of a much broader strategy to deepen Roblox's international footprint and chase its next wave of users. The company also recently named four new regional general managers to lead its push into key markets. 

Joost Hagesteijn will take on Europe, Diego Dzodan will head up Latin America, and Mohamed El Sheakh, a games industry veteran with experience at Apple and Microsoft, is set to lead the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye region.

This follows the April 2026 hiring of Sunil Rao, a former Amazon Web Services senior executive, as the new Managing Director for Roblox in India. His focus is on strengthening the company's presence in the fast-growing Indian market by fostering the local creator ecosystem.

Ciancutti said he was drawn to the company because of its powerful creator economy, which saw creators earn over $1.5 billion in 2025. "What stands out to me about Roblox is the breadth of what the platform has become-for players, creators, developers, and brands alike," he stated. "I think there's enormous potential to continue growing awareness across markets and audiences as the platform evolves."

The push for photorealism and older users

With a long-term goal of reaching one billion users and capturing 10% of the global gaming market, Roblox is branching out into new areas powered by artificial intelligence. Last month, it unveiled Roblox Reality, a new initiative designed to help creators build photorealistic games. This marks a major shift away from the blocky, cartoon-style worlds that have long defined the platform's aesthetic.

The company is also looking to attract older age groups to shed its image as just a kids' platform. Roblox revealed that users over 18 now represent 26% of its US daily active users who have used its age-checking process, a sign that its audience is maturing.

Untapped potential or missed opportunities?

According to one analyst, Roblox needs to make even bolder moves to boost playing hours. Michael Pachter, a gaming research analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the company should consider bringing hugely successful games from other platforms-such as "Fortnite," "Candy Crush," and "Call of Duty: Warzone"-onto Roblox. 

He argued that existing Roblox customers who play these games elsewhere "would likely migrate their gameplay to the Roblox platform, allowing Roblox to benefit from the player spending."

Pachter also highlighted advertising as another major growth opportunity, claiming the company has a "multibillion-dollar opportunity" it is not fully exploiting. While Roblox has expanded its ad business with programmatic partnerships and rewarded video ads, Pachter said the company is too focused on "seamless" product placement-style ads. He believes it has not focused enough on the lucrative interstitial advertising found on platforms like YouTube or Instagram Reels.

The new series of executive hires suggests Roblox is gearing up to tackle these challenges head-on as it aims to evolve from a kids' gaming platform into a universal social utility.

With a new growth chief at the helm and a clear focus on global markets and new technologies, all eyes are on whether these strategic moves can propel Roblox towards its ambitious one billion user target.