As more brands activate on Roblox and Fortnite, development studios are finding themselves at the front lines – often without direct contact, clear expectations, or fair visibility into budgets.
At the Roblox Developer Conference (RDC), we spoke with founders from seven development studios about their experiences working with brands – and what needs to change.
By the end of this piece, you’ll see exactly what developers are asking for and how we can make it happen. 👇
The problem: What developers told us
1. Communication is the biggest challenge.
In every conversation we had with Roblox developers, one issue kept resurfacing: communication.
The challenge isn’t creativity or technical skill, it’s the complexity of bringing multiple stakeholders, each with different goals, onto the same page.
“There are so many stakeholders – communication is always the hardest part.” – Kazutaka Yokoi and Shogo Matsusako, Co-Founders of moze Inc.
At the same time when a brand, an agency, and a developer are all involved, messages can get diluted. An exciting creative brief can quickly turn into a tangled web of approvals and mismatched expectations.
2. Brands don’t always understand virtual worlds.
Many developers told us that even when brands are eager to collaborate, they often enter platforms like Roblox with a traditional marketing mindset that doesn’t quite translate to virtual worlds.
Bob Jennings, Founder of GoodMix Studios, added to this:
“A lot of times, brands plaster their logo on a game and assume kids will love it – that’s a mistake. As we know, that’s not the case.”
Developers see this mistake all too often: a brand arrives, funds an experience, and assumes that visibility equals impact. But Roblox isn’t a billboard – it’s a participatory world where players value creativity, narrative, and authenticity over branded spectacle.
You need to ask yourself whether you want a more sterile game that’s great for branding, or one that actually fits the platform and players.” – Matt Kattan, CEO & Co-Founder of LECO Studio
3. Lack of transparency.
Beyond communication and understanding, developers also want something simple but often missing: transparency.
“You don’t always know what the full price of a deal is – someone’s usually taking the bigger share.” – Mike Duffy, Chief Operating Partner at Do Big Studios
While agencies often help bring brands into these spaces, developers told us that too many layers can slow communication and make it harder to translate creative ideas into player-first experiences.
“Kids and people who play the games are the ones who matter, and that’s the perspective brands should hear.” – Nicolas Prevost, Co-Founder of Rocket Fuel Technologies
The shift: What developers actually want
1. Direct and transparent communication.
“Talk to developers. They’re the ones who make the games, and they know the audience better than anyone else.” – Jahmir Hamilton and Jake Silverman, CEO & Director of Product Development at IX Studio
When developers are in direct conversation with brands, collaboration becomes more efficient and more creative. Instead of interpreting ideas through multiple layers of agencies, developers can work with brands to establish clear creative guidelines, technical expectations, and goals from the start. That clarity reduces miscommunication, speeds up production, and leads to experiences that feel intentional – not transactional.
2. Understanding gaming audiences.
“Understand the audience.” – Rook Vanguard from Play Outstanding
For developers, success on Roblox isn’t just about code or visuals – it’s about understanding players. Every decision, from map layout to reward loops, is rooted in knowing who the audience is and what keeps them engaged. That’s the kind of insight developers want brands to respect.
As Rook explained, many brands still play it safe, opting for simple, low-effort games that fail to connect. But the brands that take the time to learn who the players are, what they care about, and how they behave unlock far more meaningful engagement.
3. Be open to experimentation.
“Be open to experimentation.” – Bob Jennings
If there’s one mindset developers wish brands would embrace, it’s experimentation. Roblox, Fortnite, and other virtual platforms aren’t static. They evolve daily through community trends, new features, and changing player expectations.
The most successful activations come from testing, learning, and iterating alongside the community.
Developers can tweak mechanics, add features, or even shift narratives based on live feedback. Experimentation also allows brands to discover what truly resonates with players.
How is GEEIQ’s integration network propelling this shift?
The challenges developers shared – unclear communication, a lack of transparency, and limited visibility – all point to a single truth. The current model for brand-developer collaboration needs to evolve.
Too often, creators are separated from the brands they’re helping to reach new audiences, with multiple intermediaries that slow down collaboration.
The result is inefficiency, miscommunication, and missed creative potential on both sides.
The GEEIQ Integration Network was designed to change that. It solves these challenges by giving developers the audience insights they need to define their edge while enabling brands to connect with the most relevant partners for their next activation.
Built for Roblox and Fortnite developers, it creates a space where studios can access data on their audiences and increase their visibility to brands looking for their next activation partner.
Developers retain full ownership of their deals – with no commissions or cuts – while brands get the clarity and data they need to find partners who genuinely fit their audience and creative goals.
By bringing both sides onto a single, data-driven platform, the Integration Network eliminates the guesswork. Developers can benchmark their performance against others in the ecosystem, while brands can make informed decisions rooted in real audience insight.
It’s not just about facilitating deals – it’s about building a more transparent, connected, and creative ecosystem for virtual worlds, where the best ideas no longer get lost in translation.
Key takeaways
In the end, developers are not asking for much.
Just clarity, fairness, and direct collaboration. They want to work with brands that listen, respect the platform, and value creativity.
With tools like the GEEIQ Integration Network, the industry now has a way to bring both sides together transparently and productively. Better partnerships start with better connections, and this shift is already underway.
