Opening Words
Music & Content
2024 saw two break out hits: Charli XCX's Brat, and the rise of Dress to Impress. Their collab in August of that year was a watershed moment for the platform, to the tune of 350M+ visits in just 14 days, and a wave of viral engagement which has paved the way for many collabs to come. So, what went into bringing Brat summer to life on Roblox?
Building a Valuable Roblox Studio
At RDC in 2023, CEO Dave Baszucki shared 10 predictions for the next 5 years, one of which felt impossible at the time: A highly exceptional Roblox developer will be valued at $1B. In the 2.5 years since, trailing 12-month payouts have doubled for devs, from $740M to over $1.5B. So it is now inevitable.
Who Owns Brainrot?
2025 was the year of "Brainrot." From TikTok, to Roblox, to Fortnite, the trend was inescapable, and with some of the highest earning games in UGC being based on them, the hypothetical question of ownership started having serious practical implications. So, who owns the trend? Who can profit from it? And how, on a platform defined by passing memes, can you build something defensible and enduring?
Play by Play: Building a Franchise
From McDonald's Happy meals to TV & movie deals, top Roblox games are building franchises which extend and grow off platform. The heads of franchise for three of the largest games (Brookhaven, Adopt Me!, Dandy's World) discuss their approach to making not just a top game, but an IP, which can last for decades to come.
Anime on Roblox
Games & Sports
Sports are a lifelong fandom — and gaming is increasingly the gateway to it. Since 2024, Voldex & NASCAR have been teaming up to bring racing to life for the millions of players on Roblox. Hear from them how they approach this new audience as a source of fandom.
M&A
M&A continues to heat up in the UGC space. Hear from 2 experts at the top end of the market on how they expect the scene to evolve.
UGCon Golf Tournament
Prizes: 100k Robux, 100k V-Bucks, and 100k Minecoins for each of the top three finishers, awarded in the form of silly giant checks.
Creative 3.0
In 2018, Epic Games launched Creative Mode, first letting developers make their own games. Then at GDC in 2023, they announced Creative 2.0, unveiling Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN), and kicking off a new payout system that has led to over $900M in developer earnings. So then: what will Creative 3.0 look like? When will it happen? And should we expect it from a shift in the platform, creators, or something in-between?
Novel Games
Minecraft's Creator(s)
Before Roblox took off (and Fortnite even existed) creators in Minecraft gave our first view of what "UGC" could mean during the early 2010s. Today, the game is not only the most watched on YouTube with over 2 trillion total views, but also the bestselling game in history, at 300M copies. Hear from the devs who have helped make that possible, not only by building games within the ecosystem, but the ecosystem itself.
The Rise of Mascot Horror
Going In-House
As Lee reported in 2025, "sometimes be as large as 80 or 90 percent of brands' overall campaign spend" on Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft can go to middlemen agencies, rather than the developers doing a deal. Either, agencies must provide around 80 to 90% of a deal's value, or, brands could be getting 10x the value simply by working direct with creators. The Partnership Leads of 3 of the largest developers discuss.
UGC as Talent
Talent agencies have defined marketing since the 1920s — but is working with celebrities the same as music artists? What about content creators, or game devs? The founders of Evolved Talent (XQc, Botez Sisters, Amouranth) and Blox MGMT (KreekCraft, Sketch, IBella) discuss what taking care of new age talent takes.
Closing Words · Event Ends