Draft:Jailbreak (Roblox)

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Jailbreak
DevelopersAsimo3089
Badcc
PublisherBadimo
EngineRoblox
Platform
Various
ReleaseApril 21, 2017
GenreAction-adventure
ModeMultiplayer

Jailbreak is a 2017 action-adventure game developed and published by Badimo on the online game platform and game creation system Roblox. In the game, players assume one of two roles—a police officer or criminal, with each team designed for players to have different objectives to complete. Players can also purchase vehicles, weapons, and various items with in-game currency. Some weapons can include additional exclusive skins.

In the first two years of the game's debut, Jailbreak was the first Roblox game to receive 1 billion visits in around 14 months.[1] It later achieved 2 billion visits within two years, making it one of the most successful games on Roblox. The game has since then surpassed over 7 billion visits on Roblox as of November 2025.

Gameplay

Jailbreak is an action adventure video game set in an open world.[1] The gameplay follows around the player given two options, criminal and police, each option has objectives for players to complete. If a player chooses police they will be granted weapons and equipment to incriminate, defend themselves against criminals, and prevent prisoners attempting to leave the facility. Players can purchase vehicles, weapons, and other equipment from in-game currency.[2] Players can obtain tactical gear, weapons and other equipment and vehicles specialized for the officer and criminal roles by utilizing Roblox's virtual currency, Robux.[2] If a player chooses criminal, they will be teleported to a prison, where they must escape and obtain the criminal status. Criminals are allowed to carry firearms and explosives for defense against law enforcement and to complete heists in locations.[2]

Development and release

Prior to the release of Jailbreak, Alex Balfanz and his high school classmates worked together on several games on Roblox,[3] some of the games developed had been granted revenue worth $1,000, including VOLT (2016), a driving video game parody of the science fiction franchise, Tron.[1] Later that year, Jailbreak was fully completed after four months of non-stop game development and quality assurance testing, and was later released on April 21, 2017.[2]

Following its release, Jailbreak was met by positive reception by players who expressed support for the game and suggested additional features.[1] Jailbreak was featured in Roblox's Ready Player One event, based around the release of the film.[4]

Jailbreak gradually grew in popularity, achieving 1 billion visits in the shortest period of time, reaching the visit count after 14 months of release, and also gaining a significant amount of active concurrent players, 60,000 and 90,000 on a daily basis, and 150,000 players at its peak concurrent player count. The achievement had more concurrent players than Roblox's easter egg hunt events. The game had earned over US$1 million in revenue during the first quarter of its debut. A portion of which was used to pay Balfanz's college tuition of US$300 million.[5][6]

Partnerships

On April 13, 2021, Jailbreak collaborated with American toy brand Nerf to create Nerf Blasters manufactured to resemble the game's weapons.[7] On November 5, 2021, NASCAR collaborated with Jailbreak to include a limited time event featuring two racing cars and a racing track that were available until November 14, 2021, and a 75th birthday anniversary-exclusive car skin that was available for a limited-time in 2023.[7] In October 2025, it was announced that since c. 2024, Canadian entertainment studio Wind Sun Sky Entertainment was working on an upcoming theatrical animated film adaptation of Jailbreak; an animated series and several special episodes were also planned in advance.[3][8]

Reception

Jailbreak averaged over 70,000 concurrent players as of July 2017, making it one of the most popular and successful games on Roblox.[9] Jailbreak has received "generally favorable" reviews from critics. Entertainment Focus writer Barry Stevens claimed that the gameplay, "plays a huge factor in a successful Roblox game." and included game mechanics and objectives that, "engage the player, whether you’re in a social game or a first-person shooter".[2] Business Insider writer Matt Weinberger positively wrote about the game's popularity and growth since the release, calling it an "overnight success".[9] VentureBeat writer Dean Takahashi considered the game a Grand Theft Auto clone by saying, "It's like Grand Theft Auto with blocky characters".[10] Jailbreak had accumulated over US$1 million in revenue within its first year of release.[11]

See also

References

  1. Huddleston Jr., Tom (2019-09-23). "This 21-year-old is paying for college (and more) off an amateur video game he made in high school". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  2. Stevens, Barry (2020-06-18). "The most popular games on Roblox episode 2, Jailbreak". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  3. Tuchow, Ryan (October 22, 2025). "Wind Sun Sky to adapt Roblox hit Jailbreak as animated feature". Playback. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  4. Harbison, Cammy (March 12, 2018). "'Roblox Ready Player One' Event: How to Find Copper, Jade & Crystal Keys (Location Clues)". Newsweek. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  5. Browning, Kellen (August 16, 2020). "You May Not Know This Pandemic Winner, but Your Tween Probably Does". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  6. Browning, Kellen (2020-08-16). "Where Has Your Tween Been During the Pandemic? On This Gaming Site". New York Times. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
  7. Lee, Alexander (2021-11-18). "How Roblox's virtual brand activations are building a robust creator economy". Digiday. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  8. Anastasio, Cecilia D' (November 5, 2025). "Roblox Games 'Grow a Garden, 'Jailbreak' Clinch Movie Deals". Bloomberg News.
  9. Weinberger, Matt (July 25, 2017). "A video game you've never heard of has turned three teens into multimillionaires–and it's just getting started". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  10. "The DeanBeat: Roblox's kid developers make enough 'robux' to pay for college". VentureBeat. 2017-07-21. Archived from the original on 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  11. Jammot, Julie (February 15, 2019). "Roblox, the game platform teaching young kids to code". Phys.org. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.