25-22. The Chiefs win in overtime. They cement their dynasty status in history, and presumably the Las Vegas prop bet fans cash-in on the second Super Bowl to go to overtime.

In Playable Media much of the hype and interest was around Super Bowl LVIII, but maybe not as much as you might expect. The NFL and their broadcast partners went big on Roblox. However, the NFL didn’t make an appearance on Fortnite this year. The makers of Fortnite, Epic Games, must have been too busy hammering out their blockbuster deal with Disney.

In the Playable Media Report this week

• The NFL and Viacom promote the Super Bowl thru Roblox

• A P&G Football activation disappears during Super Bowl Week

• Disney x Epic close a $1.5 billion deal. (This is prob really the news of the week)

Let's get started...

The NFL and Viacom bring the Super Bowl to Roblox in a big way

The NFL, together with broadcast partner Viacom (owners of CBS, Paramount, and Nickelodeon), brought the Big Game into Roblox in a big way. The Roblox Super Bowl activations this year included a first-of-its-kind SpongeBob-themed event in collaboration with the NFL, Gamefam, and Paramount. The experiences encompassed a multi-game adventure quest, taking users across a variety of different popular Roblox experiences.

The experience featured activities across multiple game experiences inside Roblox, including the SpongeBob Simulator, Super NFL Tycoon, and TMNT Battle Tycoon, allowing players to interact with Nickelodeon characters styled in NFL IP. As how was the Super Bowl brought to life across these various platforms?

Sponge Bob Simulator

As players joined the SpongeBob Simulator, they saw how the Super Bowl celebration had taken over Bikini Bottom with banners, billboards, and videos inspired by the Super Bowl LVIII takeover of Las Vegas. SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, and more welcomed players to Super Bowl LVIII as animated NPCs in full Super Bowl LVIII gear. In the build-up to the game, players were asked to answer pre-game prediction questions, given a list of tasks to complete to help ensure Bikini Bottom was set for The Big Game, and more.

Super NFL Tycoon

The Super NFL Tycoon, presented by Intuit, is an official NFL building and roleplay experience on Roblox. It allowed fans to build, play, and learn in their own NFL-centered world through a combination of the popular tycoon and simulator genres. Players engaged in interactive NFL-themed gameplay, built teams, unboxed card packs representing fictional players, and competed in a simulator while climbing the leaderboard to unlock additional in-experience content. For Super Bowl LVIII, this was linked back to the Sponge Bob experience.

TMNT Battle Tycoon

The TMNT Battle Tycoon, a Roblox game that allowed players to engage in a battle tycoon experience set in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe, enabled players to participate in battles, build their own tycoon, and explore the world of TMNT within the game. This game provided an immersive experience for fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, allowing them to interact with its characters and settings.

All of the experiences features the same call to action at the bottom of the description:

Why you should care

As the confetti is still settling over the the Chiefs Super Bowl win (Taylor Edition), the data is yet to be fully reported, but we can look at prior results as indicators.

The Super Bowl program built on previous successful collaborations between Gamefam, the NFL, and Paramount on Roblox, which included: Nickelodeon’s NFL Nickmas Game, when Paramount and the NFL had teamed up to create a unique crossover event combining sports and pop culture in Roblox. The Nickmas Game initiative attracted a large audience, resulting in 31.3 million gameplay sessions and 440 million gameplay minutes over 12 days.

Last year, for Super Bowl LVII, the NFL had launched the Saweetie Super Bowl Experience, where the NFL collaborated with Warner Music Group, Intuit, and artist Saweetie to host the first official Super Bowl Concert in Roblox. The concert received the highest rating ever for a Roblox concert, with a 95.86% rating. The Super Bowl LVII program also ranked among the top 5 Roblox events in the past 12 months, with over 7.5 million visits in just one week.

For their part, Intuit saw significant benefits from this collaboration, including more than doubling brand awareness (2.6x), nearly doubling understanding of Intuit's product ecosystem (1.8x), and garnering over 400 million brand engagements.

The NFL and Viacom also pulled these Playable Media assets out from Roblox and into the broadcast in some areas, including this intro into the game for the Nickelodeon broadcast, and this Plankten Bot attack just before half-time. Credit to the folks are Silver Spoon to bring these AR features to life in the innovation heavy Nickelodeon broadcast.

Unofficial attempts to activate the Super Bowl in Fortnite, disappeared

Last week in the build up to the Super Bowl and preparing to write the Playable Media Report, I came across this obviously P&G’s Proving Grounds by @UnitedSports in Fortnite. This appeared an obvious attempt to capitalise on the Super Bowl interest, but make no direct reference to the League or the ‘Big Game’, so i thought it would be overlooked.

Now, I cannot find any link to the experience, any post on social media, or any PR. So, I guess you just have to take my word for it! There is a tiny little sneak peek of what they might have been planning in this TikTok influencer #ad

P&G and United Sports appeared to have planned a P&G 'Battle of the Paddles' event on Overtime SZN's YouTube channel where 8 NFL players would compete to win the tournament that is promoted in this experience. It's worth noting that P&G has also previously activated in Roblox with their 'P&G Park' and mini-games such as 'Bounty obby'.

Why should you care?

Don’t mess with The Shield.

Not even P&G were big enough or clever enough to avoid the watchful brand policing eye of the NFL. In the TikTok promo, the football jerseys in a locker room appeared to be white and red - and clearly that is way too close to the colors of the Chiefs and/or the 49ers!

In a week where the NFL went huge on Roblox, Fortnite didn’t appear to feature in the marketing and promotional mix for The Big Game. Is this a symptom of the NFL’s believe that Roblox is better placed to reach and attract new fans?

Or was Fortnite and Epic Games too busy with something else in the run up to the Super Bowl…

Disney announce $1.5 Billion investment in Fortnite maker, Epic Games

Disney's investment in Epic Games has generated significant hype. The media giant is making a substantial $1.5 billion investment for an equity stake in Epic Games, marking its largest foray into the gaming world

This move is seen as a strategic step for Disney to tap into the booming gaming industry and the metaverse - although they never mention the word “metaverse” in the announcement. With Disney's backing, Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, is poised to make significant strides in with iconic IP further fueling the excitement surrounding this investment

The investment is part of Disney's broader strategy to expand its presence in the gaming sector and leverage the potential of the metaverse. This significant financial commitment has captured the attention of industry analysts and media outlets, reflecting the high level of anticipation and interest in the partnership between Disney and Epic Games

What does this tell us?

The $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, values Epic Games at a 29% discount compared to its valuation less than two years ago. Is Epic Games just another large venture-backed company forced to sell shares at a steep discount in the tech industry, affected by higher interest rates, or is this a new growth engine for Epic Games and "Fortnite", now in a strategic partnership with one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in the world. The move has implications for the competitive landscape, particularly in the ongoing debate between Roblox and Fortnite.

Roblox, in response to investor pressures and in pursuit of share price growth, has been targeting an older demographic by promoting 17+ experiences and attracting big brands to its platform - such as the flood of fashion brands we reported on last week. This strategic shift towards an older audience and increased advertising for brand investment raises questions about its focus on its core demographic, which historically has been users under the age of 13. With 58% of its users now over 13, Roblox's efforts to 'age up' may potentially alienate the younger users who were instrumental in building the platform's initial success.

Conversely, Epic Games, through its partnerships with the LEGO Group and Disney, appears to be focusing on capturing a younger audience for Fortnite. The release of the UEFN development tool, supported by a $1 billion creator fund, aims to open up the platform for a younger demographic and pivot towards a creator-driven economy, reminiscent of Roblox's original model. However, the challenge remains in maintaining engagement among this younger user base, a hurdle highlighted by declining engagement figures from LEGO partnerships. Despite these challenges, Epic Games' strategic collaborations with major IPs like Disney and LEGO may position Fortnite advantageously in the long-term competition with Roblox.

Must Read: Matthew Ball

Matthew Ball is one of the great commentators, investors, and taste makers in this sector. His article, The Tremendous Yet Troubled State of Gaming in 2024 is a must read for anyone interested.

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