Paramount's Roblox Journey: Active Iteration to Breakthrough Hit Game
- Stephen Dypiangco
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 minutes ago
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Paramount was one of the first major media companies to bring its IP to Roblox. But like many early entrants, they struggled to turn presence into real engagement or revenue. What makes their story unique is that they didn’t stop. Paramount kept experimenting — hubs, shops, tycoons, simulators, UGC — until they finally hit on a formula that worked: SpongeBob Tower Defense, a breakout game that cracked Roblox’s top earners.
That journey — from Nickverse to SpongeBob Tower Defense — shows the reality for brands on Roblox: success doesn’t come overnight. It takes persistence, iteration, and the right partnerships.
(Quick note: thanks to everyone reading these posts — I’ve heard from many of you that these breakdowns are helpful. Your feedback shapes what I cover, and today’s article comes directly from a reader request.)
Paramount's Early Efforts: Presence Without Stickiness
Paramount’s first big move was Nickverse, launched in March 2022. Designed as a hub-and-spoke world, it featured branded areas for franchises like Avatar: The Last Airbender and SpongeBob SquarePants. The experience was updated for about a year and a half, ultimately reaching 14 million visits. On paper, that’s a solid number — many branded experiences never cross the 10 million threshold.
But the problem was depth. Nickverse gave fans a place to visit, but it didn’t give them a reason to stay. Without strong gameplay loops, engagement stalled, and updates tapered off by late 2023.
The same issue showed up in Mean Girls: Fetch Fashion, launched in October 2023. At that time Roblox was encouraging brands to create “shops” where they could sell UGC avatar items, and Paramount leaned in with a commerce-first approach. But like similar efforts from adidas (adidas Outfit Creator - 2.4M lifetime visits), Fetch Fashion lacked true gameplay. Players might stop in to look around or claim free UGC items, but without loops to keep them entertained, the experience never found traction with Roblox’s discovery algorithm.
Paramount Iteration: Finding Familiar Genres
Learning from those early misses, Paramount pivoted toward building games inside proven Roblox genres.
In June 2023, they launched TMNT Battle Tycoon, an experience I ranked among my favorites that year, tapping into the ever-popular tycoon format. The game attracted tens of millions of visits at launch, but its long-term performance didn’t hold (it currently stands at 74M lifetime visits). Today, it hovers around 200-300 concurrent users — respectable, but not enough to drive meaningful revenue.
A few months later, Paramount released SpongeBob Simulator (September 2023). Modeled after blockbuster hits like Pet Simulator X/99, it eventually climbed to 69 million lifetime visits. This was Paramount’s first standalone Roblox game for SpongeBob, and it showed that the brand could resonate when paired with platform-native mechanics. But while the visits were solid, monetization didn’t match — the simulator drew crowds but didn’t convert into a lasting revenue engine.
In parallel, Paramount experimented with paid UGC drops across franchises like Star Trek, Garfield, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Invader Zim. These generated some revenue but lacked the scale to be considered breakout hits.
Big Breakthrough: SpongeBob Tower Defense
The real breakthrough came in late December 2024 with SpongeBob Tower Defense. Unlike earlier projects, this one wasn’t led internally — it was pitched by Roblox-native developer Wonder Works Studios, who secured the SpongeBob license.
The results were immediate. Within two months, the game racked up 125 million visits and cracked the top 25 earning Roblox games. Its design was sticky and monetization-friendly, with a wide array of gamepasses (VIP, speed boosts, and more) that converted well.
Though it has since slipped closer to the top 50, the game proved Paramount could deliver a true Roblox hit. More importantly, it demonstrated the value of partnering with experienced Roblox studios that understand how to adapt IP into formats Roblox players already love.
Lessons Learned on Roblox
Paramount’s Roblox journey highlights a few clear lessons for brands and media companies considering coming to the platform:
Iteration is essential. Success rarely comes on the first try. Paramount’s willingness to test hubs, shops, tycoons, simulators, UGC, and eventually tower defense is what led them to their breakthrough.
Gameplay first, IP second. Early efforts leaned heavily on brand recognition, but engagement didn’t stick. Tower Defense worked because it built on a genre Roblox players already understood and enjoyed.
Partnerships matter. Paramount’s biggest win came from Wonder Works, a developer with deep Roblox expertise. Choosing the right partner can make the difference between a visit-driven novelty and a revenue-generating hit.
Know the benchmarks. On Roblox, 1 million visits for a branded game is respectable. Ten million marks a brand marketing success. But ongoing hits need 10–20 million visits per month. SpongeBob Tower Defense showed Paramount could reach that level.
What’s Next for Paramount and Media Companies
Paramount hasn’t slowed down. Following SpongeBob Tower Defense, they launched another SpongeBob-themed game, Steal a SpongeBob, which showed strong early traction before cooling off. The pace of experimentation makes it clear: Paramount sees Roblox not as a side experiment but as a long-term pillar of their digital strategy.
And they’re not alone. Legacy media companies such as NBC Universal are moving from one-off marketing activations to consistent investment on Roblox across IP from Wicked to How to Train Your Dragon. Netflix has created Roblox games for popular IP like Squid Game and also made their IP available via the new Roblox licensing platform. IP holders are learning that it takes more than brand recognition to succeed — it takes gameplay depth, iteration, and platform-native expertise.
The Takeaway for Brands
Paramount’s Roblox story is proof that persistence pays off. Early efforts missed, middle experiments found audiences but not revenue, and only after years of testing did they hit with a game that cracked Roblox’s top earners.
For brands and media companies, the lesson is clear: Roblox is not a “one and done” platform. Breakthroughs come when IP is paired with the right game concept, delivered in partnership with native expertise, and refined through iteration.
Treat Roblox like a platform, not a campaign.
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