Gamefam

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox companyGamefam Studios is an American video game company. It primarily utilizes Roblox as a video game development platform,<ref name="tc"/> while also using Fortnite Creative and Minecraft as engines to create maps and minigames.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has produced content for brands such as Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Speed Simulator), the National Football League, Hot Wheels, Doctor Strange, Kung Fu Panda, Samsung, and Puma and staged virtual concerts for musicians such as The Chainsmokers and Saweetie.<ref name="Polygon"/><ref name="GamefamRapidGrowth">Template:Cite web</ref> Gamefam has been accused of mistreatment of its employees.

History

Gamefam was founded in 2019 in Los Angeles, California, United States by Joe Ferencz, the current CEO. Ferencz was originally involved with bringing Hot Wheels into the Forza series and Rocket League, and while doing so, he was observing Roblox's success as a free-to-play video game platform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Explaining his reason for founding Gamefam, Ferencz told TechCrunch, "Roblox truly is the Metaverse for this younger generation. What that means is that each game needs to have a very distinctive and attractive immersion to it, in a way that mobile free-to-play doesn’t."<ref name="tc">Template:Cite web</ref> The company is described by Ferencz as the "first and only fully-dedicated, professional game publishing company on Roblox"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has recruited veteran Roblox developers.<ref name="GamefamRapidGrowth"/>

In November 2020, Gamefam, with the partnership of Mattel, released Hot Wheels Open World on Roblox, which is a Hot Wheels-themed open world racing game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2021, Gamefam partnered with WowWee to create toys for their popular Roblox game Twilight Daycare.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2021, Gamefam announced in an interview with Forbes that they partnered with WildBrain to start integrating various brands into their portfolio of Roblox titles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Unreliable source?

In March 2022, Gamefam announced they have raised $25 million in its Series A funding round, which was led by Konvoy Ventures and participated in by Play Ventures, Makers Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners and Galaxy Interactive.<ref name="fb">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Unreliable source?

In April 2022, Gamefam, with the partnership of Sega of America, released Sonic Speed Simulator on Roblox, which is a Sonic the Hedgehog game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its launch was the largest on Roblox, with 70 million plays<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and 275,000 concurrent players in the first week of its release, and it would reach 500 million visits in its first four months. Joe Ferencz called it "the No. 1 branded game of all time on Roblox".<ref name="GamefamRapidGrowth"/>

Accusations of employee mistreatment

In December 2022, former employees accused Gamefam of crunching their employees while underpaying them, as well as laying some off before the holidays without much warning, which was against the contract. Because the employees reported working on Sonic Speed Simulator while being mistreated, the hashtag #SonicSweatshopSimulator trended on Twitter as a protest by fans. Gamefam released a statement denying the accusations and began banning users who brought up them up in the Sonic Speed Simulator Discord server.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2023, Gamefam settled with an employee after he had filed a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the company had violated the National Labor Relations Act by threatening retaliation against employees that spoke with coworkers about their salaries. The employee was paid $5,000 USD in bonuses and Gamefam was legally obligated to remind its employees of their rights.<ref name="Polygon">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Games

Template:Cleanup Gamefam's current Roblox games include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Build-A-Bear Tycoon, an idle advergame for Build-A-Bear Workshop.
• Build to Survive Simulator, a round-based survival sandbox game.
• Car Dealership Tycoon, a car dealership-based tycoon game. (Partnership not ownership)
• Cirque du Soleil Tycoon<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Deathrun, a round-based obstacle course game.
• Deliveryman Simulator, a delivery-based simulator.
• Easy Obby, a platform game based on obstacle courses.
• Eating Simulator, an eating-based simulator.
• Festival Tycoon
• Gym Tycoon, a gym based tycoon game.
• Harmony Hills (formerly Rhythm City)
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: You Have The Power!, a licensed game based on the 2021 TV series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
• Hot Wheels Open World, a licensed Hot Wheels open world racing game.
• Junkbots Story, a licensed Hexbug story game based on one of their franchises, JunkBots.
• Little World, an insect adventure game.
• Maple Hospital, a hospital-based roleplay game.
• Military Tycoon, a military shooter game which lets players build their own military base.
• Ore Mining Tycoon!
• Polybattle, a first-person shooter.
• Red Light, Green Light, a game unofficially based on Squid Game.
• RoBeats, a rhythm game.
• Shadovis RPG
• Shoot Out, a western-themed third-person shooter.
• Slashing Simulator, a weapon-based simulator in which involves the use of katanas.
• Sonic Speed Simulator, a licensed Sonic the Hedgehog incremental platform game.
• Speed Run Simulator, a speed-based simulator game.
• SpongeBob Simulator, a licensed SpongeBob SquarePants game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
• Starving Artists, a donation-based game where players can create their own pixel art and sell it to other players.
• Super NFL Tycoon
• TMNT: Battle Tycoon, a licensed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game.
• Tower of Misery, a round-based platform game.
• Twilight Daycare, a daycare roleplay game.
• Ultimate Driving, an open world racing game based in the Eastern United States.
• Ultra Power Tycoon
• War Tycoon, a military shooter game that uses the Advanced Combat System framework which lets players build their own military base.
• Weapon Fighting Simulator
• Barbie Dreamhouse Tycoon, a licensed Barbie game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website