Gamefam Explained

Type:Private
Industry:Video games
Hq Location City:Los Angeles, California
Hq Location Country:United States
Products:Video games
Brands:RoMonitor
Num Employees:250+ (January 2023)[1]
Subsid:Silicon Digital

Gamefam Studios is an American video game company. It primarily utilizes Roblox as a video game development platform, while also using Fortnite Creative and Minecraft as engines to create maps and minigames.[2] It has produced content for brands such as Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Speed Simulator), the National Football League, Hot Wheels, Doctor Strange, Kung Fu Panda, Samsung, and Puma and staged virtual concerts for musicians such as The Chainsmokers and Saweetie.[3]

History

Gamefam was founded in 2019 in Los Angeles, California, United States, by Joe Ferencz, the current CEO. Ferencz was originally involved with bringing Hot Wheels into the Forza series and Rocket League, and while doing so, he was observing Robloxs success as a free-to-play video game platform.[4] Explaining his reason for founding Gamefam, Ferencz told TechCrunch, "Roblox truly is the Metaverse for this younger generation. What that means is that each game needs to have a very distinctive and attractive immersion to it, in a way that mobile free-to-play doesn’t."[5] The company is described by Ferencz as the "first and only fully-dedicated, professional game publishing company on Roblox"[6] and has recruited veteran Roblox developers.[3]

In November 2020, Gamefam, with the partnership of Mattel, released Hot Wheels Open World on Roblox, which is a Hot Wheels-themed open world racing game.[7] [8]

In October 2021, Gamefam partnered with WowWee to create toys for their popular Roblox game Twilight Daycare.[9]

In November 2021, Gamefam a partnership with WildBrain to start integrating various brands into their portfolio of Roblox titles.[10]

In March 2022, Gamefam announced they have raised $25 million in its Series A funding round, which was led by Konvoy Ventures and participated in by Play Ventures, Makers Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners and Galaxy Interactive.[11]

In April 2022, Gamefam, with the partnership of Sega of America, released Sonic Speed Simulator on Roblox, which is a Sonic the Hedgehog game.[12] Its launch was the largest on Roblox, with 70 million plays[13] and 275,000 concurrent players in the first week of its release, and it would reach 500 million visits in its first four months. Joe Ferencz called it "the No. 1 branded game of all time on Roblox".[3]

Accusations of employee mistreatment

In December 2022, former employees accused Gamefam of underpaying their employees while crunching them, as well as laying some off before the holidays without much warning, which was reportedly against the contract. Because the employees reported working on Sonic Speed Simulator while being mistreated, the hashtag #SonicSweatshopSimulator trended on Twitter as a protest by fans. Gamefam released a statement denying the accusations and began banning users who brought up them up in the Sonic Speed Simulator Discord server.[14] [15] In April 2023, Gamefam settled with an employee after he had filed a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the company had violated the National Labor Relations Act by threatening retaliation against employees that spoke with coworkers about their salaries. The employee was paid $5,000 USD in bonuses and Gamefam was legally obligated to remind its employees of their rights.[16] [17]

Games

Gamefam's current Roblox games include:[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gamefam, Publisher Of Hit Roblox Games Like Twilight Daycare, Raises $25 Million In Its Series A Round. Forbes. Kris. Holt. March 23, 2022. March 23, 2022. March 23, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220323203048/https://www.forbes.com/sites/krisholt/2022/03/23/gamefam-publisher-of-hit-roblox-games-like-twilight-daycare-raises-25-million/?sh=232493c01df4. live.
  2. Web site: Writer . Jeffrey Rousseau Staff . 2023-08-01 . Gamefam and the business of advertising on game platforms . 2023-09-07 . GamesIndustry.biz . en . September 7, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230907150007/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gamefam-and-the-business-of-advertising-on-game-platforms . live .
  3. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . Gamefam sees rapid growth in making games for Roblox . . 5 December 2022 . 31 May 2023 . May 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230531215828/https://venturebeat.com/games/gamefam-sees-rapid-growth-in-making-games-for-roblox/ . live .
  4. Web site: Roblox is so lucrative that it has attracted professional studios like Gamefam. VentureBeat. Jeff. Grubb. April 5, 2021. September 23, 2021. September 21, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210921135330/https://venturebeat.com/2021/04/05/roblox-is-so-lucrative-that-it-has-attracted-professional-studios-like-gamefam/. live.
  5. Web site: Gamefam aims to be the first big gaming company built on Roblox. TechCrunch. Anthony. Ha. March 11, 2021. September 23, 2021. October 7, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007170311/https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/11/gamefam/. live.
  6. Web site: Gamefam is publisher that helps Roblox developers generate six-figure revenues. Game World Observer. Evgeny. Obedkov. April 7, 2021. September 23, 2021. September 20, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212935/https://gameworldobserver.com/2021/04/07/gamefam-is-publisher-that-helps-roblox-developers-generate-six-figure-revenues. live.
  7. Web site: Mattel, Gamefam Team for Roblox Hot Wheels Game. License Global. November 19, 2020. September 23, 2021. October 7, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007171812/https://www.licenseglobal.com/toys-games/mattel-gamefam-team-roblox-hot-wheels-game. live.
  8. Web site: Gaming Roundup | Hot Wheels built a game inside of a different game. Autoblog. Erik. Maier. November 20, 2020. September 23, 2021. September 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210927165216/https://www.autoblog.com/2020/11/20/gaming-roundup-hot-wheels-roblox/. live.
  9. Web site: WowWee and Gamefam Announce Partnership Geared at Bringing the Metaverse to the Doll Aisle. Yahoo Finance. October 14, 2021. October 29, 2021. October 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028222836/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wowwee-gamefam-announce-partnership-geared-120200208.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLm5sLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACxpgHbF7aG20xgtgbbZKQPkPr_GUsY9eU503ny-IyYlYiASaEqTu7ymZJ4OTTWZY7MFbkcOpbc08H5aXTBhsfv7fiwQeaegjoe8PXGvI1r8PLUiTDIGNahkdADkuQ6oj9mhwAuhM0HHn3MNeNmU-rJ8m1ixit1AKs0EnnF50Q0Q. live.
  10. Web site: Media . aNb . 2022-04-07 . MGA Entertainment Partners With Gamefam and WildBrain Spark for Landmark L.O.L. Surprise! Roblox Integration . 2024-01-04 . aNb Media, Inc. . en-US . January 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240104211108/https://www.anbmedia.com/news/2022/04/mga-gamefam-and-wildbrain-l-o-l-surprise-roblox/ . live .
  11. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . 2022-03-23 . Gamefam raises $25M to build games for Roblox . 2024-01-04 . VentureBeat . en-US . January 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240104211108/https://venturebeat.com/games/gamefam-raises-25m-to-build-games-for-roblox/ . live .
  12. Web site: Alexander. Christina. Sonic the Hedgehog's next video game is in Roblox. Digital Trends. April 13, 2022. May 31, 2023. May 22, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230522224735/https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/sonic-the-hedgehog-roblox-game/.
  13. Web site: McCracken . Harry . Roblox grows up . . Fast Company, Inc . 19 April 2023 . 31 May 2023 . April 24, 2023 . https://archive.today/20230424155637/https://www.fastcompany.com/90878692/roblox-grows-up . live .
  14. Web site: Bevan . Rhiannon . Sonic Speed Simulator Devs Accused Of Crunching And Underpaying Staff . TheGamer . Valnet Inc. . December 12, 2022 . December 12, 2022 . December 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221212181004/https://www.thegamer.com/sonic-speed-simulator-roblox-crunch-underpay/ . live .
  15. Web site: Coulson . Josh . More Developers Speak Out Against Roblox Sonic Speed Simulator Developer Gamefam . TheGamer . Valnet Inc. . December 13, 2022 . December 13, 2022 . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213165724/https://www.thegamer.com/developers-speak-out-roblox-sonic-speed-simulator-developer-gamefam/ . live .
  16. Web site: Carpenter . Nicole . Sonic the Hedgehog Roblox game studio can't stop its workers from discussing pay . 2023-04-11 . . . 2023-04-11 . April 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230414173938/https://www.polygon.com/23678734/roblox-gamefam-lawsuit-nlrb-complaint-settled-sonic-speed-simulator . live .
  17. Web site: Rousseau. Jeffrey. Gamefam settles NLRB complaint alleging retaliation over pay discussions amongst staffers. GamesIndustry.biz. April 11, 2023. May 24, 2023. May 22, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230522051541/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gamefam-settles-nlrb-complaint-with-game-developer. live.
  18. Web site: Our Games — Gamefam. Gamefam. May 25, 2023.
  19. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . Gamefam will build immersive world for Cirque du Soleil inside Roblox . . 24 May 2023 . 31 May 2023.
  20. Web site: Luster . Joseph . My Hero Academia Battlegrounds Roblox Beta Goes Live as Service's 1st Official Anime Game . . . December 22, 2023 . December 21, 2023.
  21. Web site: NickALive!: Paramount, Gamefam Partner For 'SpongeBob,' 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Fan Experiences In Roblox. NickALive!. July 26, 2023. August 27, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230827020525/http://www.nickalive.net/2023/02/paramount-gamefam-partner-for-spongebob.html. live.
  22. Web site: Barbie Dreamhouse Tycoon Launches on Roblox, Timed to Movie Release. Metaverse Marcom. July 23, 2023 . October 1, 2023. September 28, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230928071317/https://www.metaversemarcom.io/post/barbie-dreamhouse-tycoon-launches-on-roblox-timed-to-movie-release. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gamefam".

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