Growing SpongeBob Tower Defense to a Top-25 Monetizing Roblox Game
- Stephen Dypiangco
- Mar 17
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 17
Wonder Works Studio CEO Zach Letter shares SpongeBob's path to Roblox success.
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On new year's day of 2025, I was tipped off about a brand new SpongeBob-themed game that was performing incredibly well on Roblox. I took a look at the title's details page, and I was impressed with the high number of concurrent users (CCU's) and visits.
Several weeks later, I learned just how well the game was performing. In January the experience ended up accumulating over 51 million visits, reaching second among branded entertainment experiences for the month. Shortly thereafter, Roblox CEO David Baszucki called out SpongeBob Tower Defense as a success that had broken into the top-25 earning games on the platform. This is quite an impressive accomplishment, and it likely means the game is on track to earn several million dollars annually.
The game is made by Wonder Works Studio, a Roblox developer that has made its own original IP games as well as branded experiences for Puma, Froot Loops and DJ David Guetta. Company CEO Zach Letter has shared interesting LinkedIn posts about the popular SpongeBob game, including how the game originated and how they're leveraging YouTube to drive growth. These posts have been super informative, so I reached out to Zach to see if he'd share more insights about the game. Thankfully, he agreed.
I really enjoyed the in depth answers Zach shared with me, and I hope you enjoy them, too. If you do, please share this article with your colleagues and your LinkedIn connections. Thanks!
Stephen: How did SpongeBob Tower Defense come into existence? I saw a post on LinkedIn that said you had approached Paramount with the idea.
Zach: We set out to create a compelling tower defense experience on Roblox, recognizing the genre's growing success and the opportunity to introduce something unique.
As we began developing the backend, the Roblox Developers Conference (RDC) was fast approaching. With this in mind, I identified Paramount as the ideal partner, believing that SpongeBob would be the perfect IP for our game. At RDC, I had the opportunity to meet Jennifer Sharp, who had recently joined Paramount. I passionately pitched our vision, and she was immediately on board. Following that conversation, we formalized our partnership in early October and successfully launched our game on December 20th
Stephen: There was already a SpongeBob game on Roblox before yours came out. Why did you think a new SpongeBob would resonate with Roblox players?
Zach: While there was already a SpongeBob experience on Roblox, we saw an opportunity to create a fundamentally different experience that would appeal to a broad audience. Our goal was to combine the beloved nearly 26-year-old SpongeBob universe with the highly successful tower defense craze. We believed that SpongeBob's rich world and diverse cast of characters were a perfect fit for the strategic depth and cooperative gameplay that tower defense games offer.
By leveraging our platform experience, love for the IP, and working closely with Paramount, we ensured that the game not only stayed true to the IP but also introduced fresh, exciting mechanics that would resonate with both SpongeBob fans and Roblox players alike. The success of our launch validated this approach, proving that players were eager for a new way to experience Bikini Bottom.
Stephen: Why do you think SpongeBob Tower Defense has taken off so quickly?
Zach: The foundation for tower defense success has been well established by previous games, giving us a clear understanding of best practices and common pitfalls. Through extensive analysis of existing tower defense experiences on Roblox, we identified key shortcomings within the genre. We proactively addressed these gaps by implementing numerous quality-of-life (QoL) features that resolved long-standing frustrations voiced by players.
What truly sets us apart is our ability to maintain a consistent and ambitious update schedule—something few teams on Roblox can achieve. We release substantial updates every week, not just minor content drops. Each update includes new worlds, gameplay features, QoL improvements, tower units, enemies, and more.
This commitment to regular, meaningful content has organically attracted the attention of top tower defense influencers, who now cover our game daily. Additionally, our frequent updates ensure that players consistently return, keeping the game relevant and highly engaging over time.
Stephen: How are you supporting the game on YouTube? What impact is that having on the game's performance? Are you seeing a large amount of traffic to the game from the "Other" source, which is usually social media referrals?
Zach: We established a dedicated YouTube channel for our game, producing daily content to engage and expand our player base. Despite being live for only a month, the channel has quickly become one of the largest covering our game, amassing nearly 2 million views in its first 30 days. Our videos now average 70,000 views each, with continued growth.
Notably, 25% of our games weekly traffic originates from external sources, underscoring the critical role of social media in our overall strategy. As we move forward, expanding our presence across digital platforms will remain a key focus, allowing us to further drive engagement, retention, and long-term success.
Stephen: What have you and your team learned making this game that you didn't know before?
Zach: Developing SpongeBob Tower Defense has been an invaluable learning experience for our team, pushing us to refine our approach to game design, live operations, and community engagement.
One of the biggest takeaways has been the power of rapid iteration and consistent content updates. While we understood the importance of live service games, executing weekly updates at this scale has taught us how to efficiently plan, develop, and deploy meaningful content without sacrificing quality.
We’ve also gained a deeper understanding of player behavior, particularly within the Roblox ecosystem. Analyzing engagement patterns, retention trends, and community feedback has helped us fine-tune our gameplay loop, ensuring that updates are not just frequent but also impactful.
Additionally, building a strong social media presence—especially through our YouTube channel—has reinforced the value of integrating content marketing into a game’s success strategy.
Finally, working with a major IP like SpongeBob has been a masterclass in balancing creative vision with brand integrity. Navigating the expectations of both the IP holder and the fanbase required us to be thoughtful about how we adapted the world of SpongeBob into an interactive experience, ensuring it remained authentic while still delivering fresh and engaging gameplay.
Stephen: On their last earnings call, Roblox CEO David Baszucki mentioned that SpongeBob Tower Defense was a top 25 earning game on the platform. Was this your goal at the outset?
Zach: While reaching the top 25 was an exciting milestone, our primary goal from the outset was to create a high-quality, engaging experience that players would love. We saw an opportunity to merge the strategic depth of tower defense with the beloved SpongeBob IP in a way that hadn’t been done before. Our focus was on delivering a polished, content-rich game with strong live-service support, knowing that player engagement and retention would ultimately drive success.
That said, seeing SpongeBob Tower Defense recognized as a top 25 earning game so quickly was incredibly rewarding. It validated our approach to frequent updates, community engagement, and content-driven growth. Moving forward, our goal is to sustain and build on this momentum, continuing to innovate and expand the game to keep players excited and engaged for the long term.
Stephen: How confident were you in being able to make a hit game? Where did your confidence come from?
Zach: I had complete confidence in this project—so much so that I was willing to stake our studio’s future on it.
Wonder Works Studio has been operating since November 2019, experiencing both successes and challenges along the way. Over the past five years, we’ve gained the knowledge, experience, and resilience necessary to execute a project of this scale.
I don’t believe we could have achieved this level of success a year or two ago, but today, we have assembled an exceptional team. Our staff is among the best in the industry—passionate, driven, and highly skilled. Their talent and dedication gave me the confidence to take this leap, knowing that together, we could create something truly special.
Stephen: What advice do you have for other developers out there looking to make a hit Roblox game?
Zach: My biggest advice for developers looking to create a hit game is to treat it like a long-term product, not just a one-time release. Success on Roblox isn’t just about launching a great game—it’s about sustaining and growing it over time.
The most successful games on Roblox either introduce something new or improve upon an existing genre in a meaningful way. Study the platform, identify gaps in the market, and build a game that offers something players can’t get elsewhere.
Roblox is a fast-moving platform. Pay attention to trends, player feedback, and analytics to refine your game over time. What works today might not work six months from now, so be ready to pivot and evolve.
Ultimately, success on Roblox comes down to creating a game that players genuinely love and want to keep playing. If you focus on delivering a high-quality experience, engaging with your community, and maintaining a strong live-service model, your chances of building a hit game increase exponentially.
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Stephen Dypiangco is a strategy and marketing consultant , helping brands and developers unlock the power of Roblox.
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