- The NFL is working with game developer and publisher Gamefam to create game-based content on Roblox in hopes of enticing a younger audience to tune into the Super Bowl.
- The cross-game quest event will be centered in Roblox’s new SpongeBob Simulator and span across several Gamefam-powered experiences including Super NFL Tycoon, TMNT Battle Tycoon, Twilight Daycare and Easy Obby.
- The content is designed to tie in to the NFL’s first-ever alternate telecast of the Super Bowl on Nickelodeon, which like CBS (where the main telecast will occur) is owned by Paramount.
Attracting 70 million daily active users, Roblox has become a top – if not the top – platform to reach younger consumers. According to Qustodio, the average Gen Z and Gen A user spends more than 130 minutes a day on Roblox, compared with 112 minutes per day on TikTok and 70 minutes per day on YouTube. As they say, it’s best to reach people where they are.
“Roblox is a great way to introduce the Super Bowl and drive awareness of the Super Bowl for this audience,” said Alli Guglielmino, senior vice president of growth at Gamefam. “Being able to take the DNA of what the NFL is doing from a broadcast standpoint and export that to the Roblox platform is a great way to reach them.”
The cross-game quest, which Gamefam is touting as “the biggest Super Bowl event on Roblox ever,” will be free to play across most platforms and devices including consoles, PCs, mobile and tablets. Activities will include using the SpongeBob Simulator to demonstrate how the Super Bowl has taken over Bikini Bottom with banners, billboards and videos. Through the Simulator, SpongeBob characters will interact with users, providing a list of tasks to complete to make sure the underwater venue is ready for the game.
One task may be found in TMNT Battle Tycoon’s virtual New York City, where users will have to find a list of items that were stolen from the NFL while en route to Bikini Bottom. Similarly, players will have to train babies in Twilight Daycare to become strong enough to compete in the big game and navigate a Super Bowl and Spongebob-themed obstacle course in Easy Obby.
“We want [the Roblox experience] to be additive, and by bringing all of these games together, we are able to drive awareness and traffic across the board,” Guglielmino said.
The program builds upon Gamefam’s previous work around the NFL and the Super Bowl, which includes creating a similar cross-game event for Nickelodeon similar simulcast, the NFL Nickmas Game in December and last year’s Saweetie Super Bowl Concert Presented by Intuit on Roblox. The latter is the highest-rated concert on Roblox of all time.