Ikea will pay players an hourly wage to work in its virtual Roblox store

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has announced plans to recruit new staff to work in a virtual store on the Roblox platform.

Ten successful applicants will be paid an hourly rate of £13.15 (or €14.80) per hour to work in “different sections of the store like the Showroom and Bistro… helping people choose their furniture” and “serving meatballs”. Promotions will be available, but it isn’t clear if the worker’s wage will increase with it.

The wage matches the London Living Wage set in the UK, as opposed to the lower country-wide National Living Wage, which was set at £11.44 per hour in April 2024.

Interested individuals can register their interest through a form on thecoworker.com, which asks questions like “how do you feel about being turned into pixels”, which pixelated IKEA furniture they would be, and how they would handle running out of pixellated hotdogs in the in-store bistro.

According to X user Bloxy Media, the move is part of the company’s Careers Done Different initiative, the first part of which will launch on the popular gaming platform on June 24, 2024.

There’s no word on average shift length, contract details (which is listed as “limited”), or employment duration. It’s available to residents of the UK and Ireland aged 18+. Applicants also can’t already work for the company.

Also unconfirmed is which studio is behind the creation of the Ikea Roblox game in question. The Gang, a Swedish team, has been suggested. It’s a studio that gained popularity with original titles like Strongman Simulator and Tower Tycoon before moving onto branded experiences like McLaren F1 Racing Experience, NERF Strike, Race to Wimbledon, and Vans World.

Since the announcement, players have voiced concerns – not about the contents of the game or Ikea’s employment initiative, but for what it could mean for popular Roblox game 3008, which takes place in a fictional “unusually large furniture store” called ROKEA: a clear parody of Ikea’s iconic warehouse stores.