Constructing on metaverse successes. How Gamefam’s Roblox technique delivered a triumphant yr

In the case of capturing video video games’ present zeitgeist, few do it higher than Gamefam.

That’s to not say the 2019-founded outfit is standard or typical. Removed from it, actually. For one, the workforce largely focuses on making and publishing video games and experiences delivered inside metaverse gaming platforms. In line with that focus, Gamefam has established a deep understanding of the GenZ demographic’s wants and tastes, informing its work on live-operated authentic video games, digital live shows, and experiences that join manufacturers or artists with new audiences inside Roblox.

The ensuing breadth of potential has additionally seen Gamefam construct works for different giants of the reside house, from Fortnite to Minecraft. And but it’s Roblox and its 58.8 million every day energetic customers particularly which have supplied Gamefam the chance to ascertain thundering momentum over the previous 12 months.

Merely put, Gamefam has positioned itself as a pacesetter in an area the place so many key traits and developments are presently converging. That features the whole lot from metaverse live shows, reside ops, web3 and video games as experiential venues, to the transfer on video games by musical acts, manufacturers, sports activities, and established media as an entire. The Los Angeles firm is the primary devoted, fully skilled recreation publishing outfit serving Roblox, adopted by Fortnite and Minecraft – letting it stand because the speartip of a brand new motion. And it is a motion Gamefam sees as defining of metaverse platforms’ present evolution.

“We’ve intentionally introduced in a variety of these sensible GenZ native metaverse creators”

“We began to see this fascinating shift,” says Gamefam CEO and founder Joe Ferencz, reflecting on the origins of Gamefam as a studio and idea. “For a few years video games have been actually like films. They have been full contained tales that basically existed in isolation. However now, as we enter this metaverse period, video games are a lot nearer to TV exhibits. In case you’re a author for a TV present, you want new plot factors on a regular basis. That’s the way you have interaction that viewers, and maintain them watching.

“For Gamefam, and I feel for an increasing number of recreation studios right this moment, we’re now in one thing so much just like the TV enterprise. We’re within the YouTube channel enterprise. We have to make new content material on a regular basis. We noticed that shift towards the metaverse – that chance – a couple of years again, so we constructed methods to permit groups to comfortably and efficiently collaborate on an ongoing foundation to provide you with nice, thrilling new concepts to maintain the viewers having enjoyable in a recreation like Roblox. That’s the enterprise we’re in.”

Issues have actually gone properly for Ferencz and his colleagues. 2022 began with the announcement of Gamefam’s $25M collection A funding spherical, led by Konvoy Ventures with participation from Play Ventures, Makers Fund, Bessemer Enterprise Companions and Galaxy Interactive. The profitable spherical let Gamefam put money into new creator partnerships, analytics and reside ops instruments, plus promoting tech. The success of the funding spherical additionally helped to develop the Gamefam workforce to over 250 members, from skilled veteran builders and information scientists to vibrant younger expertise which have graduated from Roblox player-creators to Roblox builders, lending the studio an enviable understanding of its core market.

“We’ve intentionally introduced in a variety of these sensible GenZ native metaverse creators who grew up enjoying Roblox, and now they’re younger adults,” Ferencz enthuses. “These folks have been making Roblox video games since they have been 15 or youthful, for themselves, as true creators. So we’re constructing a key a part of the workforce to be authentically conversant within the language of Roblox. That brings us a workforce making stuff that’s inherently genuine. And the Roblox audiences see that authenticity and perceive our video games are coming from a spot they get. That authenticity is admittedly necessary to succeed right here, particularly in these community-driven, player-creator metaverse areas.”

One other a part of the success, after all, comes from the standard of the video games Gamefam creates. In 2022, Sonic Velocity Simulator quickly emerged as the best reaching recreation launch in Roblox’s lengthy historical past, crusing previous 275,000 concurrent gamers in its opening week. In the identical yr, Gamefam noticed its full, increasing recreation catalogue climb previous 20 billion lifetime gameplay classes, with Sonic Velocity Simulator standing because the yr’s No.1 branded recreation on Roblox. Funky Friday additionally took the highest spot within the music recreation class, Ravenous Artists seized the main artwork recreation place, and Competition Tycoon thrived because the lead branded music recreation.

“To work with Sonic and SEGA, after which to have that be the most important launch in Roblox historical past… That is been a dream come true”

“In such a busy, profitable yr for us, launching Sonic Velocity Simulator could be the spotlight for me personally,” Ferencz says after a lot thought. “It actually was particular to us, after all of the laborious work establishing this firm nearly 4 years in the past after we had a dream in our eyes, with a imaginative and prescient to make an influence on our craft. So to have an opportunity to work with Sonic and SEGA, after which to have that be the most important launch in Roblox historical past and the most important branded recreation on the platform by far, with a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of participant classes… That is been a dream come true for all of us. After which we’ve additionally been recognised within the Roblox Innovation Awards, which, for us, actually spoke to the work we put in to ship on high quality.”

Certainly, on the 2022 Roblox Improvements Awards earlier within the yr, Gamfam attracted the best variety of nominations, ultimately scooping the Greatest Audio Design and The Builderman Award of Excellence for Robeats and Ravenous Artists respectively.

2022 has additionally seen Gamefam construct and launch two of Roblox’s top-rated live performance experiences with electropop duo The Chainsmokers and rapper 24KGolden. It additionally hit a hanging 1.8 billion marketing campaign engagements throughout a number of branded integrations and advert campaigns for famend properties corresponding to Monster Jam, Bakugan, Skechers, Marvel’s Dr Unusual, Kung Fu Panda and LOL Shock. As if all that wasn’t sufficient, Gamefam additionally launched its Fortnite division this yr, with a workforce boasting huge expertise serving manufacturers together with Samsung, Puma, and the BBC’s Physician Who.

It’s obvious that by the previous 12 months, Gamefam have gotten a variety of issues very proper. And there’s no signal that Ferencz and his colleagues have any plans to decelerate.

“I feel what you are going to see in 2023 is Gamefam bringing a collection of the most important manufacturers throughout leisure, sports activities and gaming to the metaverse,” he provides.

“There’s going to be some large bulletins coming from [us]. We have now round 100 folks engaged on authentic content material on the firm proper now, and we’re standing up groups in actual time to fulfill market demand for a number of the greatest, most fascinating branded and IP content material out there. There’s so much to do and we’re very excited by all of it.”

With that, Ferencz should get again to the job in hand, with a view to creating subsequent yr simply as wealthy in accomplishment because the final.

For extra data on Gamefam, click here.