Tencent partnered with Roblox to launch a Chinese version of the platform. The collaboration produced a localized Chinese Roblox initiative known as Luobu, with the client commonly referred to as Luobulesi.
Roblox and Tencent formed a China joint venture in February 2019. Roblox held a 51% voting interest, while Songhua River Investment, an affiliate of Tencent Holdings, held 49%. The arrangement covered localization, operation, publishing, and support for Chinese developers using a localized version of Roblox Studio.
Tencent received the required Chinese publishing license in December 2020, and the localized Roblox client launched in China in July 2021. The project was designed to adapt Roblox to China’s regulatory environment and connect with local creators and players.
The Chinese release did not become a permanent equivalent of the global platform. Luobulesi was taken offline in January 2022 while Roblox and Tencent worked on a possible next version. This history is why Tencent is the specific partner, rather than Alibaba, ByteDance, or NetEase.