Ikea will pay 10 Roblox players to roleplay as employees in its virtual store

By Wes Davis , a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020.

Corporate publicity stunts involving virtual reality are almost always bad, but Ikea’s new Roblox store feels especially silly. The company announced last week that it plans to pay 10 people £13.15 or €14.80 per hour to work in The Co-Worker Game, a virtual Ikea store in Roblox. The company is taking applications until June 16th, only from candidates in the UK or Ireland who are 18 or older.

Being paid to be an NPC. What a world. The virtual employees will carry out tasks like serving meatballs or helping people find fake furniture or other Ikea items. They can also “get promoted to move departments, just like in the real world.”

I wouldn’t assume this is a real job, even if Ikea is paying real money for it. The website where you can apply says it’s a “limited contract.” The application asks you questions like “How do you feel about being turned into pixels?” or “If you were a pixelated IKEA furniture, which one would you be and why?”

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