Gamefam Closes Record FY2023 & Releases Report on State of Brands in Metaverse Gaming
Amid banner year for brands on Roblox & Fortnite, Gamefam cemented itself as top metaverse game developer surpassing 27 billion gameplay sessions to date across portfolio
From iconic characters like Barbie and Sonic to cultural events like the Super Bowl to hit artists like Bebe Rexha, the metaverse proved the place to be for brands and talent looking to reach Gen Z & Alpha effectively in 2023
Gamefam, the leading metaverse game developer, publisher and strategist with a portfolio of live operated original games, virtual concerts and experiences that connect brands with new audiences, today unveiled its first-ever “State of Brands in Metaverse Gaming” report, including results from its most successful year to date.
With top-performing titles and activations on Roblox and Fortnite, the company announced FY2023 as its most successful year yet, achieving more than 35% year-over-year revenue growth, scaling to more than 200 employees, and reaching 16 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. With over 30 games in its owned and operated network, Gamefam cemented itself as the metaverse’s top developer in 2023, with over 7.5 billion gameplay sessions across its portfolio this year – surpassing 29 billion gameplay sessions to date.
"As 2023 comes to a close, we can look back at another year where our work has transcended gaming and we’ve rewritten the playbook on what's possible in virtual worlds,” said Joe Ferencz, CEO & Founder at Gamefam. “Our team, the heart and soul of Gamefam, continues to delight players and partners time and time again. We're not just navigating a fast-evolving industry; we're shaping it… from scratch. With Roblox and Fortnite continuing to be the primary entertainment and digital culture platforms for Gen Z and Alpha, our mission for 2024 is clear: create amazing experiences for amazing communities."
2023 achievements within the Gamefam portfolio include:
Topping the Charts and Turning Notable IP into Hit Roblox Games: In 2023, Gamefam was the developer, owner and operator behind three of the top 10 branded Roblox games – including Sonic Speed Simulator (#1 branded Roblox game in 2023, #1 branded Roblox game of all time), Barbie DreamHouse Tycoon (#7 in 2023) and TMNT Battle Tycoon (#10 in 2023). During the year, the company launched official Roblox games for Barbie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cirque du Soleil, Bakugan, the NFL, Warner Music Group, and more.
Breaking Fortnite Boundaries: Gamefam capitalized on new Fortnite developer tools that went live in 2023. The company developed the first-ever brand integration into a Fortnite Creative game for the horror movie Talk to Me, with an integrated experience in Deadpines: Zombie Survival. Gamefam also built Kappa Canyon, a map designed specifically for Twitch Rivals Streamer Bowl IV, which reached 1 million viewers on the livestream, in addition to developing Legends Landing, an official Epic Games Fortnite experience that hosts Fortnite Competitive events. Overall, Gamefam recorded 2 billion minutes of gameplay across its portfolio of Fortnite games in 2023.
From the Big Screen to the Metaverse: Gamefam worked with studios behind movies and TV shows to promote their content to millions of players on Roblox and Fortnite – before, during and after their global premieres. Gamefam developed unique integrations and experiences for Barbie (movie), TMNT: Mutant Mayhem (movie trailer), Talk to Me (horror movie), Unicorn Academy (Netflix show), Bakugan (Netflix show), Glisten & The Merry Mission (Build-A-Bear movie) and Twilight Daycare: The Show (Gamefam show).
Rockin’ the Metaverse: In partnership with Warner Music Group, Gamefam developed two of the top concert experiences on Roblox in 2023, including Saweetie’s Super Bowl concert (#1 rated Roblox concert of all time) and Bebe Rexha – delighting more than 11.8 million concertgoers combined. Most notably, in February, Gamefam worked with the NFL and Warner Music Group to launch the award-winning, first-ever Super Bowl concert in the metaverse, starring Saweetie and seamlessly delivering results for presenting sponsor Intuit. To date, Gamefam has developed three of the top five concerts on Roblox (based on player ratings). Besides concerts, Gamefam introduced artists like Cher, Maisie Peters and Ashnikko to Roblox with multi-week events promoting their new album releases, generating over 1 million visits and 9 million minutes of immersive engagement with their virtual avatars and music.
Hardly Any Brands Need Standalone Games: As the industry took note that every brand needs a metaverse strategy, Gamefam introduced brands to the massive, existing player bases in our portfolio of hit games – helping them to reach millions of avid players in already popular games via authentic and engaging brand integrations. Delivering the engagement of experiential marketing with the scale of digital, Gamefam generated over 6.7B campaign engagements and 5.3 billion minutes of brand engagement across more than 20 branded integrations and ad campaigns in 2023 for top properties including Intuit’s sponsorship of Saweetie’s Super Bowl concert and Super NFL Tycoon, Spin Master’s launch of Unicorn Academy within Twilight Daycare, Paramount Pictures’ promotion of Transformers in Weapon Fighting Simulator, as well as campaigns for Spin Master’s Monster Jam and Bakugan and Ubisoft’s Brawlhalla. The company also delivered 113 million impressions via in-game native displays in 2023 for brands like Disney, Skechers, Paramount, Netflix, Universal and more.
Beyond Branded Games: Gamefam has the biggest portfolio of hit original games in Roblox and Fortnite:
Roblox:
Tycoons: Military Tycoon, War Tycoon, Ultra Power Tycoon, Zombie Battle Tycoon
Music: Funky Friday (#1 music game on Roblox), RoBeats
Roleplay: Twilight Daycare, Maple Hospital
Fortnite:
Top Hits: Deadpines: Zombie Survival, Infinite Zonewars, Crank Simulator
Fortnite Competitive Streaming Hub: Legends Landing
Fortnite Events: Twitch Rivals Streamer Bowl IV in Kappa Canyon
Virtual Merchandise Matters: As virtual avatars become more and more important to Gen Z & Alpha, Gamefam delivered some of Roblox's most popular virtual merchandise in 2023, including branded merchandise in games like Sonic Speed Simulator and Barbie DreamHouse Tycoon, Hugo Boss’ NFL hoodies in Super NFL Tycoon, and jewelry, apparel, hair and more for concerts headlined by Bebe Rexha and Saweetie. In total, Gamefam drove large-scale brand exposure and fan engagement, selling more than 2.3 million virtual merchandise items in 2023, a 100% increase year-over-year.
Given the company’s work revolutionizing the way players experience the metaverse, Gamefam was honored with prestigious awards in 2023, including Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, LinkedIn’s Top 50 Startups in the US, Great Place to Work, The Drum Awards (Super Bowl activation on Roblox - “Best Metaverse Partnership” & “Best Metaverse Music Experience”), Digiday Awards (Super Bowl activation on Roblox - “Best Metaverse Marketing Campaign”), and the Tempest Awards (Streamer Bowl IV in Kappa Canyon on Fortnite – “Best Content Creation Campaign / Initiative” & “Best Esports and Gaming Crossover”).
The Metaverse Arrived in 2023
The metaverse was solidified as the preferred platform of choice for Gen Z and Alpha, with users spending 43% more time per day on average on Roblox and Fortnite than YouTube and TikTok combined. 2023 continued to see an increase in daily active users (20% year-over-year) on Roblox, and a massive expansion in the number of brand activations happening on the platform to 120 total, a 50% increase from 80 brand activations in 2022. In fact, compared to 2019, the number of branded experiences on Roblox has increased by a whopping 2,300%. On Roblox alone, 2023 generated more than 1.8 billion visits to branded games, demonstrating significant attention gathering opportunities for brands that can authentically build immersive and engaging experiences for current and new fans.
Ricardo Briceno, Chief Business Officer at Gamefam, said: “In 2023, we partnered with leading brands to develop strategies to succeed in the metaverse, informing brand leaders about why every brand needs a metaverse strategy. Now, heading into 2024, brands understand the value of the metaverse and are all in. Building on the success model we created, 2024 will be the year brands don’t just show up but begin to scale their activations, exponentially growing their ROI and impact.”
The Metaverse Will Be a Disruptive Force in 2024
While 2023 saw exponential growth across the metaverse, expectations remain even higher for the year ahead. As the industry moves beyond the proving out phase and brands understand the potential of marketing in the metaverse, Gamefam expects to see greater investment from major brand names and projects that new metaverse gaming platforms will begin to gain momentum. Once seen as under the radar, metaverse gaming is set to become one of the top revenue segments in the media business over the next few years.
“The time for metaverse marketing is here and now, and in 2024, competition among brands on Roblox and Fortnite will be greater than ever,” said Joe Ferencz, CEO & Founder at Gamefam. “With Roblox and Fortnite making significant investments in their developer tools and advertiser offerings, we expect 2024 will provide an opportunity for brands to roll out never-before-seen activations to stand out among the pack and deliver results that drive their brands forward. With the best strategy, development and publishing staff and systems in the industry, we’re confident Gamefam is in a position to take branded experiences to the next level in 2024 yet again bringing joy to metaverse gaming communities.”
To learn more about Gamefam, visit our official website and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Gamefam
Gamefam, a leading metaverse game developer, publisher and strategist that creates connected experiences with gaming communities and well-known brands, is building the next generation of pop culture franchises born from the metaverse. Our mission is to create dynamic experiences for an amazing community while we grow the next generation of super hit gaming and entertainment franchises in the metaverse. Gamefam operates the largest network of games on Roblox with over 28 million daily game sessions and 168 million hours of engagement each month across 30+ live games in the company’s portfolio. Gamefam’s top franchises include Sonic Speed Simulator, Twilight Daycare, Tower of Misery, Funky Friday, Ultra Power Tycoon, Starving Artists, Hot Wheels Open World, Easy Obby and Weapon Fighting Simulator. The Gamefam experience also extends into metaverse destinations including its operation of the three leading Minecraft servers and development of several of Fortnite’s top 40 maps. With its headquarters in Los Angeles, the Gamefam team combines the business and production expertise of longtime brand experts and game industry professionals with the metaverse’s top creators. For more information, visit https://gamefam.com.
Contact:
Kenny Mintz
Gamefam
kenneth@gamefam.com
