The new show, with the working title ‘Radical Roblox’, will focus on a group of popular Roblox influencers playing the game on air. The show will debut exclusively on Genius Brands’ Kartoon Channel in June with 12 episodes planned for season one.
Roblox has been operating for more than a decade, but has exploded in popularity in the late 2010s. By early 2020 the game was worth an astounding $4 billion, thanks to a loyal following of 150 million monthly users, which rose by 35 million from 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic the game’s popularity soared by 40 per cent, and over the past year Roblox has eclipsed its primary competitor Minecraft, which has 126 million monthly users.
Roblox is also a game that regularly spawns gaming influencers, as it’s based on the idea of allowing players to create their own games within the overall game framework, and to sell in-game merchandise. The concept has made the game both profitable and incredibly popular, and is a key reason why TV streamers are so interested in working with the brand.
“At Kartoon Channel! we pride ourselves on delivering the latest and most innovative content to our viewers,” says Jon Ollwerther, general manager of Kartoon Channel! at Genius Brands. “Roblox has become a phenomenon that has captured the attention of children across the globe, and we are thrilled to be working with Tankee to develop and share new episodes in order to meet the growing demand from viewers.”
Tankee Inc. is an Austin-based media company dedicated to providing family-friendly entertainment on a platform that helps parents protect their kids from inappropriate online content, while giving kids access to the gaming and entertainment videos they enjoy.
The safe, family-friendly platform currently features more than 1,000 hours of curated and original videos spanning the most popular game franchises for kids and features top gaming influencers.
The Roblox project is Tankee’s first co-production with the Kartoon Channel, but the company previously worked with Genius Brands in 2019 to bring 75 original Tankee gaming episodes to the Kid Genius Cartoon Channel, including Minecraft Journey to the End and Octodad Deadliest Catch.
Since then, Tankee has added Roblox-themed series Big B Statz Roblox Challenges and Sally Plays Roblox to its own platform and Kartoon Channel.