Publishing Like a Pro: GameFam Spotlight

Roblox has been blowing up over the last couple of years. Having initially launched back in 2006, the social gaming platform now boasts over 30 million games (what they call experiences), 52 million daily active users, and over 12 million creators worldwide.

Recently, we’re starting to see more and more hit games launching on the Roblox stores – with one particular publisher shining bright in the ocean of Roblox devs: GameFam. Despite only founding the company in 2019, they’ve worked with a range of Roblox developers and helped publish over 30 successful titles on Roblox.

So what’s their secret? How do they help these developers stand out? We’ve reviewed three of GameFam’s top published games: Twilight Daycare by Night Studio, All Star Tower Defense by Top Down Games, and Car Dealership Tycoon by Foxzie. Each one of these boasts over one billion visits and one million favorites.

Here’s what we found.

1. Offer rewards in exchange for likes

The more likes an experience has, the more likely Roblox will feature it on its Top Rated filter. For all three games, they make sure to offer rewards to their players if they like and share. Messages like:

• “Leave a like. Next reward at 1 million votes”
• “Community Reward – MYSTERY CHEST UNLOCKS @ 510,000 LIKES!”
• “Like the Game for More Codes!”

This tactic works in two ways. The obvious reason is that by incentivizing likes, you’re getting your players to do the work for you. But it also means that players will get their mates to like your experience to get their reward faster.

2. Feature updates in the title

With so little room to grab attention and inform their players about new content, all three games make sure they feature updates and new content in their title and description. That way, players immediately know there are new goodies ready for them to dig into.

This is particularly important for Roblox. Players come back to their game library every day, but they don’t have a news feed of updates like you might on other platforms (unless they’re following you on Discord or Twitter). With the update in the title, they know the important changes at a glance.

3. Make YouTube a priority

There are thousands of Roblox gameplay videos on YouTube and other social platforms, with new ones rolling out each day. And each experience, we’ve seen top YouTubers playing the game and sharing their codes.

YouTube is especially important for Roblox. In a video by Knowledge by Marcus, they explained that there’s not enough content for the number of people searching for Roblox on YouTube. This is where players go to find codes, new experiences and updates. It’s easy to get spotted on YouTube.

So there’s a huge opportunity here to partner up with an influencer who’ll create regular videos about your game. It can be the difference between thousands of players or millions.

4. Offer free private servers

Roblox’s audience is young. Very young. And considering it’s a massively multiplayer and social game, it’s understandable why some parents may be hesitant to let their kids play (especially in an experience like Twilight Daycare). Private servers solve that issue. And we’ve noticed that each experience offers this for free.

While it’s possible to charge for private servers, this is a mistake. This creates a barrier for some players and you risk turning players away. With so many experiences available to them, they’re more likely to just head to another game.

5. Release monthly codes

GameFam has made sure that each game offers monthly codes for free stuff (gems, items, coins – you name it). Not only does this keep your players coming back, but it’s also an introduction to in-app transactions.

Again, a lot of the playerbase is young, so they don’t have their own money to spend. Having regular codes lets them get more coins, but also shows them the store and how to get more money. So when their birthday comes up, they know what to ask for.

Roblox developers don’t just make revenue from in-app purchases. Roblox also calculates payout based on how much time a premium subscriber spends in your experience. The longer they’re in your game, the more revenue you make. So sharing free stuff brings in a profit.

5. Show native ads inside your experience

Unlike with mobile games, none of these ads disrupt the gameplay. But instead, we’re seeing ads on billboards and signs in the games – like real ones you would see in the street.

This gives the developers not only a new way to find players, but also another revenue stream to make a profit from. Without annoying anyone.

It’s best to think of Roblox as a world that you’re populating. Brand deals are a key way that developers can monetize their game.

6. Partner up with brands

Speaking of brand partnerships, you can take it a step further, Although we haven’t seen this with every game published by GameFam, we thought it was worth a mention. Partnering up with a brand can give your game a much-needed boost, as well as bring in new players.

Twilight Daycare is the prime example here. They teamed up with L.O.L Suprise!, a children’s toy manufacturer. Players could interact with characters and dolls from L.O.L. Surprise, as well as win costumes, enter competitions and find new locations in the game. Not only that, but Twilight Daycare has its own TV series currently in production.

7. Lock some content for spenders only

Sure, in theory, you could play each experience without having to spend a penny. But to encourage users to part with their (well, their parents’) hard-earned cash, some items and collectables are locked away, only available to spenders. But GameFam has limited this. Most items and features are available to those who just want to grind.

In Twilight Daycare, we can see that the Manager role is locked to players with a game pass (something you need to pay for). This role unlocks new actions and even new areas on the map.

8. Keep the gameplay forgiving and rewarding

Similar to hyper-casual games, the gameplay is extremely forgiving and always rewarding. There’s hardly ever a bad experience. Take Car Dealership Tycoon for example. You make money just by driving your car around. So even if you lose in a race, you still make thousands of in-game currency just by going on a stroll (as well as a cut from the race).

To give you an idea of how rewarded the gameplay is, watch this video. The specific example we’re talking about is at around 4:20.

GameFam makes sure it’s always a positive experience. And considering the age of the audience, this is incredibly important.

9. Offer daily challenges and rewards

We see this a lot in mobile games. But this is also a key feature for Roblox. Every day (sometimes every hour), games share challenges and rewards, encouraging the players to come back and claim their prizes.

It’s another way to get players (especially those premium players) back in your experience.

10. Talk to them in their own language

We don’t mean toddler talk. When comparing the three different experiences, each one uses very clear and easy-to-read language. But more importantly, they ram their content with emojis.

This is because Roblox is a younger generation’s platform. And GameFam understands this. Emojis and casual and direct language are key to grabbing their attention and fitting in.

Analytics can push your experience even further

Data can tell you a story about your game that you never knew. Sure you can learn lots about your experience through forums and discord servers, but they’ll only tell you about a small percentage of your players. You could be missing some critical bugs, errors and insights without the right setup.

Roblox now has analytics in its platform. While it’s helpful, it can only tell you so much. Our analytics platform is free and can help you dive deeper into your insights. So if you’re ready to learn more about your own titles, download our Roblox SDK today.

And if you fancy reading up on some more Roblox tips and tricks, then have a read through our interview with Trihex Studios, the creators of hit experience Redcliff City, to learn their secrets.