By Gavin Boyle
As brands look to promote themselves through video games like Roblox and Fortnite, it is unclear how successful these partnerships have been at creating longtime fans of these gamers.
“It’s a huge, huge opportunity,” Rahul Gautam, EY’s global technology, media and entertainment and telecommunications consulting leader, told Variety. “[Roblox and Fortnite] have set a foundation that is eye-opening for IP holders in a way that they both can’t avoid it but also see enormous opportunity for brand extension, for brand engagement, for the development of new IP that may be shoulder IP or adjacent IP that can exist in these worlds.”
“And then, just obviously, from an interesting exposure standpoint, there are few platforms more effective than these online multiplayer environments that are just ubiquitous across generations and geographies,” Guatam added.
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This is why Disney bought a $1.5 billion stake in Fortnite’s creator Epic Games at the beginning of 2024 after years of using the platform to promote its upcoming movies and shows and has ramped up its relationship with the gaming platform in the past two years.
“This will enable us to bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company for a broad audience in ways we have only dreamed of before,” Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences, said when the collaboration was first announced. “Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help us reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney in ways that are most relevant to them.”
Meanwhile, companies have become more and more interested in Roblox in recent years, and the company introduced a streamlined process this summer to enable brands to create experiences on their platform.
“Roblox offers a unique and dynamic platform for our fans to connect with beloved franchises in interactive and personal ways,” said Jenefer Brown, the Executive Vice President and Head of Global Products and Experiences at Lionsgate. “We’re excited to engage with the Roblox creator community and can’t wait to see the innovative experiences they bring to life with our IP.”
However, while these brand deals allow companies to reach tens of millions of users instantly – many of whom are young – it can be hard to gauge how successful these collaborations are at getting people excited for the franchise being promoted. These platforms also carry a risk of associating the brand with a game that may have a future controversy. Roblox is especially risky given its accusations of placing profits over child safety.
Nonetheless, it appears that collaborations between gaming platforms and entertainment brands will continue to play a major role in advertising as the chance to reach millions of gamers is too lucrative to pass up.
Read Next: Roblox Can Now Estimate a Player’s Age—Here’s How and Why
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