Why Big Brands Are Pouring Into Roblox and Gaming
Updated: 6 days ago
Gaming has become a mainstream marketing channel: more than 210 brands are now active on Roblox, which is expanding its advertising formats — but winning there means adding to the experience, not interrupting it.
Gaming Grew Up as a Marketing Channel
The brands treating gaming as a novelty are already behind. More than 210 brands are now active on Roblox, according to Tubefilter, and the platform used CES 2026 to roll out new homepage ad formats and expanded ad buying. With tens of millions of daily users, Roblox has become a genuine mass medium.
Marketing Minute's read: this is where a huge, young, engaged audience actually spends its time and attention — the opposite of the skippable, ad-blocked experience elsewhere. For brands chasing Gen Z and Gen Alpha, gaming is no longer optional.
Why Gaming Beats Interruption
Gaming's superpower is engagement. Players choose to spend hours in these worlds, giving sustained, voluntary attention that traditional advertising can only dream of. A well-built branded experience isn't an interruption people tolerate — it's something they seek out and play.
That is a fundamentally different model from buying 30 seconds of someone's patience. Done right, a brand becomes part of the entertainment, earning time rather than stealing it.
The Fastest Way to Fail
The flip side: gaming audiences have a ruthless radar for inauthenticity. A lazy branded island or a transplanted TV ad gets ignored or mocked. Respect for the culture, the community and the medium is the price of entry, and brands that treat gaming as just another billboard waste their money.
The brands that succeed add genuine play value — a fun game, a cool item, a real experience — rather than bolting a logo onto someone else's world. The question is always 'are we adding to the game, or interrupting it?'
How to Enter Without Cringe
Start by learning the platform and the players before spending. Partner with creators and developers who understand the space. Build something with real play value, test small, and measure engagement, not just impressions.
A simple framework: respect the culture, add real value, partner with natives, and scale what players actually enjoy. Gaming rewards brands that show up as participants, not advertisers.
Quick FAQ
How many brands are on Roblox?
More than 210 brands are now active on Roblox, which expanded its ad formats and buying options at CES 2026.
Why is gaming a good marketing channel?
Players give sustained, voluntary attention — the opposite of skippable ads — so a well-built branded experience earns time rather than interrupting it.
How do brands fail at gaming marketing?
By being inauthentic — transplanting a TV ad or building a lazy branded space — which gaming audiences ignore or mock. Adding real play value is essential.
Gaming is the rare place where a huge young audience gives you hours of voluntary attention — but only if you add to the fun instead of interrupting it. With 210-plus brands already on Roblox, the question isn't whether to show up, it's whether you'll show up as a participant or an advertiser. Players can tell instantly. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
In gaming, you earn attention by adding real play value, not by buying it — show up as a participant, not an advertiser, or the audience will ignore you.
Has your brand experimented with gaming or Roblox yet? What worked — or what put you off? Tell us.
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Tubefilter, Roblox, Marketing Minute analysis.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
