Gaming Takes Center Stage

July 17, 2024

Gm, welcome to the lobby.


Grab your coffee, ready up, and let’s drop in 🪂
Here’s what we have for you today:

  • Roblox Wins Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 🏆

  • The First-Ever Olympic Esports Games 🏅

  • A New Brand In Gaming: NeuroGum x 100T🧠

  • Gaming More Popular Than Music? 🎮

  • How To Brief Influencers 📝

🏆 Roblox Wins Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

source: Nickelodeon

Roblox has just won 'Favorite Video Game' at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. This is a massive achievement for a game that originally released back in 2006!

The Kids’ Choice Award win really emphasizes Roblox’s strong engagement among it’s target demographic. The largest age group on Roblox is 9 to 12 years old, making up 29% of the player base with approximately 60% of Roblox players are under the age of 16.

The platform has successfully tapped into the personalization and socialization that young gamers desire. Roblox offers a experiences that cater to incredibly specific interests and sub-cultures, whether players are into RPG’s, Tycoon games, Puzzle games, pet simulators, and everything in between. Roblox has also created a massive marketplace of UGC and accessories that young players can purchase or earn, further allowing players to customize their experience and be themselves in a safe, digital space.

This award not only acknowledges Roblox's current popularity but also makes a statement about it’s influence among younger generations and highlights the ongoing shift in how younger generations engage with digital entertainment.

The Competition?

  • Just Dance 2024

  • Madden NFL 24

  • Minecraft

  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder

  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Notably, this is the first time Roblox has won this award. Roblox has however, been 4 nominations in total at the Kids’ Choice Awards losing out to the winner, Among Us, in 2021.


👀Our POV

This win for Roblox really shows how big the game has gotten and highlights how important it is to listen to and engage with your community.

To get buy in from the next generation of gamers, you have to create safe environments that allow for self-expression, creativity, and socialization. The future of gaming is not just about playing but about sharing and connecting.

- Zach Eller (Private Lobby)

🏅 The First-Ever Olympic Esports Games

source: IOC

The Summer Olympics kickoff next Friday, and the International Olympic Committee has made the news in the gaming industry (again). We recently wrote about the IOC holding a vote on whether they should hold an “Olympic Esports Games” at their annual meeting in Paris. The committee discussed holding a separate Olympics for esports instead of attaching it to the Summer/Winter Olympics.

The Results Are In!

The International Olympic Committee has announced that the first-ever Olympic Esports Games will not only be happening but will be hosted in Saudi Arabia. The target date for the first event is 2025, with the frequency of the event still unknown.

“By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.” - IOC President Thomas Bach

The Olympic Esports Games adds another major event to Saudi Arabia’s gaming & esports calendar along with the annual, 8-week long, Esports World Cup.


👀Our POV

I was initially a little worried about this but this feels like the right direction forward after the IOC took a stab at hosting esports events themselves. 😵‍💫

Saudi Arabia has been hosting more and more esports events, with the Esports World Cup taking place there now. They’re building up their local audience and could soon be a prime target for esports competition.

Now that we have the location set, in interested in seeing what games they will host. I’m gonna assume shooters such as CS, COD, and others won’t be allowed by games like Rocket League & League Of Legends should be automatic entries.

- Justin Palacios (Private Lobby)

🧠 A New Brand In Gaming: NeuroGum x 100 Thieves

source: Neuro Gum

On LinkedIn and in an announcement video, 100 Thieves has publicly partnered with NeuroGum, a company that specializes in gum to help boost mental clarity, energy, and improved focus, declaring them their “official gum & mint partner.”

This marks NeuroGum’s first ever partnership within the gaming and esports ecosystem. To celebrate this, they’re hosting a giveaway on their Instagram, consisting of a 100T official merch including a hoodie and shorts, combined with four 12-pack gums, each boasting a different milligram dosage of either their signature recharge gum or energy & focus gum. 100 Thieves also has a 20% off discount code for the product.

According to 100 Thieves, the gum partnership is just in time to help aid their VALORANT team during Champs season.


👀Our POV

This collaboration actually makes a lot of sense in my eyes, and I think that the cross between markets is a smart move from both companies. I haven’t heard of NeuroGum before, as I saw many haven’t, and was curious to check it out.

I actually was intrigued by the giveaway and decided to try my hand at hopefully winning; I feel that this product is pretty neat and I’d love to try it out! Win or not, it’s a great way to get people to engage with the gum’s social account and give someone an opportunity to try something they probably haven’t tried before. I hope I win, fingers crossed!

- Trinity Nguyen (Private Lobby)

source: Soundful

More people play games than listen to music through streaming services? According to a new study by Newzoo, 80% of consumers now play video games.

Of the 73,000 consumers surveyed, the study found that:

  • 85% engage with games in one way or another

  • 64% view gaming content

  • 35% engage in other ways, such as listening to gaming podcasts, following esports, discussing games in online communities, creating content, and a whole lot more

  • And finally, 80% of consumers play video games

In comparison to the Newzoo study, IFPI’s Engaging with Music 2023 report found that only "73% of people say they listen to music through licensed audio streaming services (subscription and ad-supported)."

So, what does this mean?

This is probably not new information, video games have been a part of culture for awhile now. Especially since the explosion of mobile gaming with cellphones and other devices making gaming much more accessible than in the 2000's.

Also, this is admittedly not a perfect comparison. We know more people listen to music than just the 73% of people that the study found listen to music through streaming services. It is still super interesting though to see playing video games become such a normal everyday activity similar to how music has become a natural part of people's lives.

- Zach Eller (Private Lobby)

📝 How To Brief Influencers

source: Sarah Adam

“Influencers know what content works best. Better than brands. That's why we believe in giving Influencers creative freedom. Having said that, we still use a brief to make sure the most critical points are understood before content is created.”

Sarah Adam, the Head of Partnerships & Influencer Marketing for Wix, recently shared her thoughts and a super useful “Influencer Brief Template” that Sarah mentions Wix has used across hundreds of influencer partnerships.

Check out the template on Sarah’s Notion site, HERE!

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Disclaimer: our views are ours and in no way represent those of our employers.