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Roblox vs. Unity: Which Metaverse Stock Is the Better Buy Now?
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Key Takeaways
Roblox posts surging engagement and bookings but warns of near-term margin pressure.
RBLX boosts payer growth and developer earnings while higher costs delay profitability.
Unity delivers stronger cash flow, expanding tools and improving execution across segments.
The race to build the metaverse has put two innovative platforms in the spotlight, Roblox Corporation (RBLX - Free Report) and Unity Software Inc. (U - Free Report) . While Roblox has created a thriving user-generated gaming ecosystem with deep social engagement, Unity powers the development tools behind countless immersive experiences across gaming, film and virtual environments.
Both companies are betting big on the next evolution of digital interaction, but with shifting industry trends, growing competition and profitability challenges still in the picture, investors are left to weigh which stock offers the more compelling long-term opportunity at present.
The Case for RBLX
Roblox continues to widen its lead in the metaverse and social gaming space. Daily active users surged to 151.5 million, up 70% year over year, and 39.6 billion hours of engagement, indicating the platform is gaining traction globally and among older audiences. Notably, two-thirds of users are now 13 and over, strengthening monetization potential and advertiser appeal.
The company posted $1.92 billion in bookings, up 70% year over year, supported by rising payer penetration and strong traction in emerging markets such as India and Indonesia. Monthly unique payers jumped 88%, outpacing DAU growth, demonstrating a healthier virtual economy and stronger monetization mechanics, such as regional pricing.
Developer earnings hit a record $427.9 million in third-quarter 2025 and surpassed $1 billion in the first nine months of 2025. Roblox is rolling out major tech upgrades, including AI-driven content tools, server authority, custom matchmaking and higher-fidelity avatars, enabling expansion into competitive genres like shooters, racing and sports. Management believes this innovation roadmap positions Roblox to capture a larger share of the global gaming market over time.
Despite outperformance in bookings, Roblox signaled near-term margin compression. Spending is rising in infrastructure, safety initiatives and creator economics, including a DevEx rate increase. Management noted that these costs may outweigh scale benefits in the short run, delaying margin expansion until the business “catches up” to its growth.
Executives acknowledged tough year-over-year comparisons in 2026 and potential engagement friction from new safety policies, which could temporarily weigh on bookings. Meanwhile, adoption speed for new tech upgrades will influence growth, creating uncertainty in execution timing as Roblox pushes aggressively into new genres.
The Case for U
Unity delivered another quarter of upside execution. Third-quarter 2025 revenues reached $470.6 million (up 5% year over year) and 11% sequential growth in the Grow segment, driven by accelerating adoption of Vector AI. The company posted $109 million in adjusted EBITDA, with 23% margins, marking the second consecutive record quarter of free cash flow and a powerful turnaround relative to earlier restructuring phases.
Unity’s ad-tech platform Vector AI is proving to be highly scalable, absorbing significantly larger and more complex data sets, improving self-learning and boosting ROAS for developers across geographies and game genres. Management expressed strong confidence in continued sustainable growth, calling Vector a long-term growth engine and data advantage for Unity.
Unity is expanding meaningfully beyond game engine software into cross-platform commerce (Unity IAP), data analytics tools (Developer Data Framework) and emerging AR/XR technologies. The company emphasized a strategy to empower any creator, not just developers, to build interactive experiences using AI, positioning it as a platform that bridges content creation, discovery and monetization. Unity 6 adoption continues to accelerate with 9.4 million downloads, up 42% quarter over quarter.
While momentum is improving, Unity’s low single-digit total revenue growth trails high-growth peers in gaming ecosystems. Management’s fourth-quarter 2025 guidance calls for only mid-single-digit sequential growth in the Grow segment, acknowledging seasonality and execution timing uncertainties. Continued reliance on the volatile mobile ad market may limit visibility.
How Does the Zacks Consensus Estimate Compare for RBLX & U?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RBLX’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 21.8%. Then again, the consensus estimate for loss per share in the year is pegged at $1.94, whereas the same was expected to incur a loss of $1.61 in the prior year. In the past 30 days, loss estimates have widened for 2026.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for U’s fiscal 2026 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 12.1% and 13.4%, respectively. Earnings estimates for fiscal 2026 have increased in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation
RBLX stock has gained 9.4% in the past six months, in line with the industry’s growth. Conversely, U’s shares have surged 78.7% in the same time frame.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
RBLX is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 7.63X, below its median of 8.69X over the last year. U’s forward sales multiple sits at 8.92X, above its median of 5.59X over the same time frame.
P/S (F12M)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Wrapping Up
Unity currently appears better positioned than Roblox. Roblox continues to deliver strong platform engagement and meaningful innovation, but its heavy spending on infrastructure, safety and developer economics is squeezing margins and delaying profitability gains. By contrast, Unity is already benefiting from restructuring progress, showing improved profitability, healthier cash flow trends and stronger share price momentum. Its expanding technology stack, especially in AI-driven advertising and cross-platform creation tools, offers more immediate leverage in commercial markets beyond gaming.
While Unity’s top-line growth is slower, it is demonstrating clearer earnings improvement and operational discipline. This makes it a steadier investment relative to Roblox’s higher-risk, longer-duration growth strategy at this stage.
Image: Bigstock
Roblox vs. Unity: Which Metaverse Stock Is the Better Buy Now?
Key Takeaways
The race to build the metaverse has put two innovative platforms in the spotlight, Roblox Corporation (RBLX - Free Report) and Unity Software Inc. (U - Free Report) . While Roblox has created a thriving user-generated gaming ecosystem with deep social engagement, Unity powers the development tools behind countless immersive experiences across gaming, film and virtual environments.
Both companies are betting big on the next evolution of digital interaction, but with shifting industry trends, growing competition and profitability challenges still in the picture, investors are left to weigh which stock offers the more compelling long-term opportunity at present.
The Case for RBLX
Roblox continues to widen its lead in the metaverse and social gaming space. Daily active users surged to 151.5 million, up 70% year over year, and 39.6 billion hours of engagement, indicating the platform is gaining traction globally and among older audiences. Notably, two-thirds of users are now 13 and over, strengthening monetization potential and advertiser appeal.
The company posted $1.92 billion in bookings, up 70% year over year, supported by rising payer penetration and strong traction in emerging markets such as India and Indonesia. Monthly unique payers jumped 88%, outpacing DAU growth, demonstrating a healthier virtual economy and stronger monetization mechanics, such as regional pricing.
Developer earnings hit a record $427.9 million in third-quarter 2025 and surpassed $1 billion in the first nine months of 2025. Roblox is rolling out major tech upgrades, including AI-driven content tools, server authority, custom matchmaking and higher-fidelity avatars, enabling expansion into competitive genres like shooters, racing and sports. Management believes this innovation roadmap positions Roblox to capture a larger share of the global gaming market over time.
Despite outperformance in bookings, Roblox signaled near-term margin compression. Spending is rising in infrastructure, safety initiatives and creator economics, including a DevEx rate increase. Management noted that these costs may outweigh scale benefits in the short run, delaying margin expansion until the business “catches up” to its growth.
Executives acknowledged tough year-over-year comparisons in 2026 and potential engagement friction from new safety policies, which could temporarily weigh on bookings. Meanwhile, adoption speed for new tech upgrades will influence growth, creating uncertainty in execution timing as Roblox pushes aggressively into new genres.
The Case for U
Unity delivered another quarter of upside execution. Third-quarter 2025 revenues reached $470.6 million (up 5% year over year) and 11% sequential growth in the Grow segment, driven by accelerating adoption of Vector AI. The company posted $109 million in adjusted EBITDA, with 23% margins, marking the second consecutive record quarter of free cash flow and a powerful turnaround relative to earlier restructuring phases.
Unity’s ad-tech platform Vector AI is proving to be highly scalable, absorbing significantly larger and more complex data sets, improving self-learning and boosting ROAS for developers across geographies and game genres. Management expressed strong confidence in continued sustainable growth, calling Vector a long-term growth engine and data advantage for Unity.
Unity is expanding meaningfully beyond game engine software into cross-platform commerce (Unity IAP), data analytics tools (Developer Data Framework) and emerging AR/XR technologies. The company emphasized a strategy to empower any creator, not just developers, to build interactive experiences using AI, positioning it as a platform that bridges content creation, discovery and monetization. Unity 6 adoption continues to accelerate with 9.4 million downloads, up 42% quarter over quarter.
While momentum is improving, Unity’s low single-digit total revenue growth trails high-growth peers in gaming ecosystems. Management’s fourth-quarter 2025 guidance calls for only mid-single-digit sequential growth in the Grow segment, acknowledging seasonality and execution timing uncertainties. Continued reliance on the volatile mobile ad market may limit visibility.
How Does the Zacks Consensus Estimate Compare for RBLX & U?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RBLX’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 21.8%. Then again, the consensus estimate for loss per share in the year is pegged at $1.94, whereas the same was expected to incur a loss of $1.61 in the prior year. In the past 30 days, loss estimates have widened for 2026.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for U’s fiscal 2026 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 12.1% and 13.4%, respectively. Earnings estimates for fiscal 2026 have increased in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation
RBLX stock has gained 9.4% in the past six months, in line with the industry’s growth. Conversely, U’s shares have surged 78.7% in the same time frame.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
RBLX is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 7.63X, below its median of 8.69X over the last year. U’s forward sales multiple sits at 8.92X, above its median of 5.59X over the same time frame.
P/S (F12M)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Wrapping Up
Unity currently appears better positioned than Roblox. Roblox continues to deliver strong platform engagement and meaningful innovation, but its heavy spending on infrastructure, safety and developer economics is squeezing margins and delaying profitability gains. By contrast, Unity is already benefiting from restructuring progress, showing improved profitability, healthier cash flow trends and stronger share price momentum. Its expanding technology stack, especially in AI-driven advertising and cross-platform creation tools, offers more immediate leverage in commercial markets beyond gaming.
While Unity’s top-line growth is slower, it is demonstrating clearer earnings improvement and operational discipline. This makes it a steadier investment relative to Roblox’s higher-risk, longer-duration growth strategy at this stage.
RBLX and U carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.