Roblox has a reputation as a kids' platform. The numbers say otherwise. In the first half of 2026 it was the most-played game on PC and console by total hours, ahead of Fortnite, Minecraft and League of Legends, and most of its players aren't even on those devices.
That's the starting point for Roblox grows up, a new report from Newzoo in partnership with GEEIQ. Newzoo brought its player, engagement and survey data. GEEIQ brought five years of tracking what brands have done on the platform. Together they answer a question more game publishers are asking: what does this audience want, and what has worked for the brands that went first?
Here are four findings from the report. The full chapter is free to download.
1. Roblox wins on time spent
Roblox players spent 4.05bn hours on the platform across PC, PlayStation and Xbox in H1 2026, up 15% year on year (source: Newzoo Game Performance Monitor). Fortnite has more monthly players on those devices, 37.5 million against Roblox's 27.0 million, but Roblox players stay longer: 138.5 minutes a day, compared with 98.4 for Fortnite and 127.8 for Minecraft.
Source: Newzoo Game Performance Monitor. PC, PlayStation and Xbox, H1 2026.
That attention is concentrated. GEEIQ's data shows that around half of Roblox's concurrent players sit inside just 50 experiences, out of roughly 6.7 million. Breakout hits are where the audience is, and new ones can scale within weeks. In 2025, Steal a Brainrot and Grow a Garden combined for over 105bn visits.
2. Brands go where players already are
GEEIQ has tracked 553 media and entertainment activations on Roblox from 2021 to June 2026. 69% of them were integrated into games players already love, instead of being built as standalone brand worlds.
Source: GEEIQ. 553 media and entertainment activations on Roblox, 2021 to June 2026.
The format mix has shifted fast. Brand-owned worlds made up 78% of activity in 2021 and are now around 15 to 20%. Limited items, cosmetic drops sold inside existing experiences, didn't exist as a category before mid-2023 and are now the largest one.
Source: GEEIQ. H1 2026 covers January to June only.
3. Few game publishers have shown up, and two have made it work
Video game brands are still a small group on Roblox. GEEIQ has recorded 15 activations from 10 game publishers since 2021, most of them in 2023 and 2024.
Source: GEEIQ. Video game brand activations on Roblox, 2021 to June 2026.
Two took very different routes and both paid off.
Ubisoft went into existing hits, and kept coming back. Four of its five activations were integrations. The first, a Brawlhalla integration into Weapon Fighting Simulator, generated over a billion brand engagements and 128 million gameplay minutes.
SEGA built one world and ran it for four years. Sonic Speed Simulator launched in March 2022 with 70 million plays in its first week and became the first branded game on Roblox to pass 1bn visits. Its audience is 78% male, and 49% are aged 25 to 29.
The other eight publishers each built a single world with little or no follow-up. None came close to Ubisoft or SEGA.
4. This audience brings its fandom with it
Roblox players are much more likely than other gamers to call themselves fans of an IP: only 4% say they aren't a big fan of any IP tested, compared with 11% of non-Roblox players (source: Newzoo Global Gamer Study 2026). That fandom leans heavily towards anime, animation and youth entertainment, and it shows up in what they actually play.
Roblox is investing in graphics and age verification to keep players past 16. As this cohort ages into the core buying population for traditional games, its tastes and spending habits are likely to come with it.
What it means for publishers
The report's playbook comes down to three points.
Start inside existing hits. With half of concurrent players in 50 experiences, an integration reaches this audience faster and for less than a new build.
If you build your own world, plan for years. SEGA's results came from four years of live operations behind a very large IP.
Treat Roblox as a channel you return to. The brands seeing traction keep showing up.
The full report covers more than we've shared here: how Roblox players' tastes differ from traditional PC and console audiences, which genres travel and which don't, and the IP these players say they want to see as games.
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