How a young Korean turned Roblox into lucrative career

SAN JOSE — "Stop playing games." Roblox game developer Gold Octopus, whose real name is Cho Young-gwang, says his parents rarely nagged him to stop playing games. While his parents were at work and often came home late, he spent his time on online games. The middle school student developed games before the platform became widely known in Korea. That childhood hobby became a profession, bringing the 20-year-old digital creator an income of more than 100 million won ($67,800). Roblox reported about 144 million daily active users in March, making it a major platform in the creator economy. Gold Octopus, an early developer on the platform, spoke with the Hankook Ilbo in an interview Friday at the Roblox Developers Conference 2026 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in California. He taught himself game development instead of going to college. He also taught himself Japanese and recently began collaborating with a Japanese company. The young developer built his reputation with his flagship game, Sol's RNG, winning Best Experience of the Year and Outstanding Creator of the Year at the