Why political organizers are turning to Roblox to stir up more votes

Across their portfolios of in-game experiences, participating organizations distributed a pop-up encounter featuring content and mini-games informing users about the voting process and electoral college. With financial backing from the non-profit organization HeadCount, the experience offered prizes such as in-game items and celebrity meet-ups to users who filled out their name, address and contact information in order to check their voter registration status. 

“The biggest challenge launching the Virtual Vote was convincing people Roblox players were old enough to vote and then figuring out how to reach them among the 88 million daily users when you can’t target by server,” said Virtual Brand Group CEO and Virtual Vote founder Justin Hochberg. “Everybody we registered is a U.S. citizen, with a U.S. address, and was 18 or older, proving we can unite millions of people for the right cause.”

Over 500,000 people have played the Virtual Vote mini-game thus far, according to data shared by Virtual Brand Group. Of those 500,000, almost 4,000 Roblox players checked their registration status — a number that the organizers of the drive view as a success, particularly for a first-year pilot program.

“Usually, a good effort is somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000,” said HeadCount senior director of programming and strategy Tappan Vickery. “This is a little bit underneath that, but it’s not unusual for the first time we’re in a new space.”

Virtual Vote reached beyond Roblox to capture new voters, with Outfront Media joining the effort to place billboards promoting the initiative in 20 different locations, including New York City’s Times Square. 

“We’re excited to support this voter initiative by connecting with young audiences on the platforms they’re already using and highlighting these messages on our OOH assets in iconic spots like Times Square and other highly visible locations across the country,” said Outfront CMO Jodi Senese. “By combining digital and real-life touchpoints, we want to make voting feel accessible and relevant, encouraging young people to get involved and vote.”

That political organizations such as HeadCount were willing to invest in a Roblox-centric voter registration drive signals a growing awareness among marketers that Roblox is transcending its origins as a platform for young children and teens. As Roblox looks to evolve from a video game to a full-service platform for online life, the introduction of politics and the democratic process to the platform represents the latest example of the physical world bleeding into the virtual.

Roblox is not the only metaverse platform that has become a political organizing ground in the lead-up to the presidential election. Last week, the Kamala Harris campaign launched a custom Fortnite map replete with U.S. flag imagery and Harris campaign branding.

“I think it’s smart; both campaigns have raised a lot of money, and this is not a high-cost way to spend that money,” said Max Bass, director of emerging connections at the agency Gale. “Any reward that comes from it is beneficial.”