World
View the case- Brand
- Vans
- Year
- 2021
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Adventure & Quest
- Platform
- In-Game
- Agency
- The Gang
Objective
Vans wanted more than another two-week stunt like Gucci Garden — it wanted a permanent home on the platform where the next generation of skaters already lives, treating Roblox as an owned channel on par with its social channels. The game was built to pull teen audiences into skate culture and Vans' brand values, give them a way to express themselves through a shoe customizer and custom board-building, and preview real Vans product digitally ahead of purchase, while feeding consumer insight back into the brand's broader marketing. The push landed as Vans sales fell through 2022–2024, making the Roblox presence part of a wider effort to reconnect with younger shoppers.
Solution
Built by Stockholm studio The Gang, Vans World is a persistent open-world skatepark on Roblox modeled on House of Vans and the real Vans Off The Wall Skatepark in California, running on an augmented physics layer for trick riding with a scoring and currency system. Players customize their avatar through a shoe shop covering four real Vans silhouettes, build their own board, and unlock a free starter item plus paid Robux gear. The Gang shipped features based on community feedback gathered on Discord, most notably an unlockable BMX mode added in early 2022 that became one of the game's most popular additions. The world has kept expanding since — a Gucci collaboration in April 2023, then Vans World 2 in July 2024, which added global locations (Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Vans High), racing, real pro skaters, and the in-game debut of the Mixxa sneaker ahead of its physical retail launch.
Results
As of August 27, 2026, Vans World has logged 143,925,815 visits and a 90.5% approval rating (247,600 likes to 25,930 dislikes) on Roblox, with 659,651 favorites; launched in September 2021, it's still being updated five years on. It became the first branded fashion/action-sports experience on Roblox to cross 100 million visitors, hitting that mark by August 2023, and The Gang's own case study cites 132M+ total visits, over 1 billion minutes played, 60,000 daily active users, and a 91% user rating. Under-13 players drive the bulk of engagement — 53% of play hours, 55% of new users, and 55% of sessions, with the highest Day-1 retention of any age group. The Mixxa sneaker became Vans' first product ever launched in Roblox before hitting physical stores (July 18, 2024); at the Vans World 2 launch, 11,012 players earned the limited Ollie emote and 94,035 players met pro skater Lizzie Armanto in-game.
- 1
The player opens the experience at roblox.com/vans and hits Play, entering a persistent 3D skatepark modeled on House of Vans and the real Vans Off The Wall Skatepark in California, alongside other live players; this is an always-on world running since 2021, not a timed event.
- 2
On arrival the player receives one free virtual Vans item, with further clothing and gear available for purchase using Robux.
- 3
The core loop is skateboarding on Roblox's enhanced physics: the player accelerates, jumps, and lands as distinct physical actions, then chains tricks such as ollies, kickflips, grinds, and manuals into combos, earning more points and currency for harder inputs and longer strings; performing tricks, combos, and tasks builds XP and levels up the player's profile, with early levels reachable within minutes of active play.
- 4
A side panel tracks progression through Main World Quests that guide the player across locations, toggled to Daily Quests for repeatable objectives, plus a separate UGC tab listing the level, quest, and daily-task thresholds required to unlock limited-time cosmetic rewards.
- 5
Players face off in interactive challenges and races against each other, including downhill speed runs.
- 6
Points and Waffle Coins earned in play are spent in a virtual skate shop, where the player assembles a custom skateboard from parts, buys clothing for their avatar, and designs a pair of shoes by customizing one of four Vans silhouettes in a colorway builder that mirrors the real Vans.com customizer, then wears the result in-game.
- 7
An unlockable BMX mode, added after community requests, offers an alternate ride to the skateboard.
- 8
A major update expands the world beyond the original California park into new unlockable locations — Vans High and city streets in Los Angeles, France, and Tokyo — where the player can meet and ride alongside real pro skater avatars, including Lizzie Armanto (who awards a dedicated Roblox badge) and Olympic medalists Arisa Trew and Cocona Hiraki, and could once claim in-game footwear like the Mixxa shoe ahead of its real-world retail release.
- 9
Progression continues indefinitely as a pro-skater career: the player keeps leveling up and building reputation, returning for new daily quests and updates.
