Creators and developer studios are approaching the business of UGC in very different ways

"As brands flow into user-generated content platforms like Fortnite and Roblox, the creators and developer studios competing for advertising dollars are using increasingly divergent strategies. The data platform GEEIQ has published annual reports about advertiser activity inside UGC platforms since 2023. For the 2026 edition of its State of Brands in Virtual Worlds report - which GEEIQ plans to publish later this week - the company polled 51 Roblox and Fortnite creators and developer studios to better understand how their approach to branded UGC content has evolved over the past year."

"In this year's report, GEEIQ deliberately broke down respondents' answers into two categories: responses from developer studios, which GEEIQ defines as companies that specifically build branded worlds and integrations, and creators, which GEEIQ defines as individuals or companies that own and operate their own non-branded experiences, which may or may not include brand integrations."

"GEEIQ's report overindexes somewhat on responses from developer studios, with 38 of the survey's 51 responses coming from studios, rather than creators. However, the report includes insights from prominent entities on both sides of the aisle - Wonderworks and Bullseye on the creator side, for example, and Sawhorse and The Gang on the studio side - and uncovered several key differences between these entities' approaches to working with brands."

Brands increasingly enter user-generated content platforms such as Fortnite and Roblox, prompting distinct strategies from creators and developer studios. GEEIQ polled 51 Roblox and Fortnite creators and developer studios to understand changes in branded UGC approaches over the past year. GEEIQ separated respondents into developer studios — companies that build branded worlds and integrations — and creators — individuals or companies that own non-branded experiences that may include brand integrations. The survey sample skewed toward developer studios, with 38 of 51 responses from studios. Responses included entities like Wonderworks, Bullseye, Sawhorse, and The Gang. Developers tend to operate across multiple platforms, while roughly 85 percent of creators follow a single-platform approach.

Read at GamesBeat