The National Football League and Voldex, a maker and acquirer of Roblox games, are making NFL Universe Football on the Roblox platform.
The partners will incorporate NFL intellectual property into NFL Universe Football, Voldex‘s popular football experience formerly known as Ultimate Football.
This strategic collaboration will bring the authenticity and excitement of the NFL to Roblox’s 79.5 million daily active users worldwide, allowing them to experience their favorite NFL teams within the immersive and interactive environment of NFL Universe Football.
NFL Universe Football will feature all 32 officially licensed NFL teams, uniforms and more to enhance the experience, making the experience feel even more immersive. Fans will be able to participate in various in-game events, challenges and game modes that mirror the on-field action of the NFL.
Back in April, Voldex acquired Ultimate Football on Roblox for a multimillion-dollar price. Ultimate Football is one of Roblox’s top-grossing UGC games and, back in April 2024, it had received over 150 million visits in six months. A developer who went by “Jason” was one of the creators. Overall, there were a handful of creators and they stayed with the team at Voldex. And now the game has a bigger team.
“We know from search data that Roblox users are looking for sports content – particularly football,” said Lisa Willett, head of sports partnerships at Roblox, in a statement. “Sports fandom is rooted in community, which is a big part of shared experiences on Roblox already. By bringing together the prestige of the NFL and Voldex’s expertise in spearheading communities and revamping popular experiences on the platform, people across the world can enjoy their favorite NFL teams with their friends in new immersive ways.”
Within NFL Universe Football, players will get a deep, customizable and immersive NFL football experience in six-vs-six matches. They can also sharpen their skills in practice mode, trade gear at the trade hub and play various match types in park mode.
“Partnering with the NFL is a significant milestone for us,” said Alex Singer, CEO of Voldex, in a statement. “We are thrilled to bring the unparalleled excitement and prestige of the NFL to Roblox. This collaboration underscores our commitment to providing our players with the most engaging and authentic gaming experiences.”
“As we acquire more, the bar continues to lift because it takes something bigger to move the needle,” said Singer, in an interview with GamesBeat.
The rebranded NFL Universe Football will be available on September 13. Fans can look forward to regular updates, special events and exclusive content that will enhance their gaming experience and keep them engaged throughout the NFL season. The team has been “reskinning” the game with NFL IP. In contrast to other football simulations like Madden, this game won’t have individual player licenses. It’s just NFL.
Voldex has a diverse portfolio of games, including the top racing experience, Driving Empire and Dungeon Quest. Singer founded Voldex in 2015 to make UGC games. He started out on Minecraft and moved on to Roblox later as it grew. Singer raised money to acquire games and has been doing so for a few years. Driving Empire has 1.2 million daily active players and the game gets about 60 million visits a month from around 15 million to 20 million monthly players. It has had around 1.5 billion players, and the game now has brands such as individual car makers and NASCAR.
“One of our key metrics is track record. So we say no to a lot more than we say yes to. And so we value a game that has been successful in the past, but also value a game that we think we can add significant upside to,” Singer said. “We’re actually not acquiring games that are as early in the process as you might think. It’s not necessarily like an angel investment or VC model. We are buying established top 100 titles because we believe in the longevity of the platform.”
He added, “We believe these games have legs, that they can stick around for years longer, and we can continue to sort of build amazing experiences for players. I think that’s maybe the big misnomer about Roblox, is that these games don’t have legs or longevity, but they do. Players are playing these games for years.”
“Our strategy for the past few years has been buying games that Roblox developers have built,” said Andrew Rose, chief people officer at Voldex, in an interview with GamesBeat. “It’s like a rollup strategy.”
“This is going to be huge for the game, huge for the community. The players love the NFL, obviously,” Rose said. “We’ve been working in parallel to get all the assets in the game.”
“We’re definitely going to be planning on acquiring more games,” Rose said. “We acquire about one to two games a year, and we need them to be substantial and sustaining so we can put full teams on them and run live operations efficiently and effectively.”
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