User-generated content (UGC) is anything customers, fans or players make and share in place of the brand: reviews, photos and videos or, inside games, levels, avatar items and whole mini-games. For a brand it adds voices other than its own and material people pass on, at the cost of control over the message.
How it works
Outside games, UGC is the customer photo under a hashtag or the product review. The usual test comes from a 2007 OECD report: the content is public, shows creative effort and is made outside professional routines (Wikipedia). Games have it too, from mods and level editors to Roblox and Fortnite, where players build whole games.
In a branded game the brand hands players a tool and a reason: build a course, design an item, pitch an idea, record a clip. Others play, like or vote, and the best entry is added to the game, released as an item or given a prize.
On Roblox, "UGC" usually means avatar items made by community creators: accessories, clothing and bodies sold on the Marketplace. Uploading one requires a verified identity and a fee of 80 Robux per submission (Roblox Creator Hub). Brands commission them as game rewards.
Where brands use it
Most library UGC serves engagement, across entertainment, food and drink and fashion and beauty. Three set-ups recur. Players build inside the game: YTV's Race to the Finish gave fans a level editor, and they made roughly 1,500 courses in the first month. Players submit and the winner is built in: a fan's axolotl became the main monument of the Minecraft National Park made for The Nature Conservancy. Players post clips: KFC Canada offered a chance at a gift card for Street Fighter 6 combos shared on Instagram. Our tag for level editors and player-made items covers 37 games; for Roblox, see the Roblox collection and our guide to brands on Roblox.
When it fits
UGC suits a brief about community and time spent, not a single message. It works best when the audience already makes things: Roblox players were building unofficial Duolingo games before the company asked. It needs a platform with creation tools, such as a Roblox experience, a Fortnite island or Minecraft, or a social channel where entries are seen.
Plan in rounds, not a launch day. Duolingo ran a seven-day game jam; Amazon put a new item to the vote every two weeks. Budget for moderation and for building the winners into the game.
When not to use it
Skip open uploads if the players are young children. Under the US COPPA rule, a photo, video or audio file containing a child's image or voice is personal information, so operators must get verifiable parental consent or screen out such media before it is posted (FTC COPPA FAQ). For kids, keep creation inside the game: building, choosing, voting.
Never tie a reward to praise. The FTC's 2024 rule bars incentives for reviews that express a particular sentiment (FTC), and for entries posted to win a prize it suggests making "contest" or "sweepstakes" part of the hashtag (FTC endorsement FAQ). See sweepstakes.
For a one-week campaign or one fixed message, a playable ad works without waiting for entries. For customer data, a personality quiz is faster.
Examples from the library
Crash Course — Doritos (2010)
Agency: Wanako Games · Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
The game came from a fan. Doritos' Unlock Xbox contest invited people with no development experience to pitch one; judges cut more than 1,500 entries to eight, online votes picked three, and two finalists were released free for a player vote (Chief Marketer). The winner, designed by Jill Robertson (Wikipedia), put players' own Xbox avatars on obstacle courses across 15 tracks, racing the clock for leaderboard places.
Result: Chief Marketer reports it became the fastest-downloaded Xbox Live Arcade game, passing 1 million downloads in two weeks; in a study it cites, 72% took action after seeing the Xbox Live ads and 49% of those respondents bought Doritos. Wikipedia puts sales at 4,222,820 units by the end of 2011.
Duolingo Game Hub — Duolingo (2022)
Agency: Jam3, credited as Media.Monks at The One Show · Platform: Roblox
For Duolingo's tenth anniversary, players ran through Spanish or Vanish, a garden maze, office and arcade where Duo held the lift until they translated a phrase into Spanish. Coins bought Duo gear that stayed on their avatar in other Roblox games. The hub also showcased fan games from a seven-day Game Jam, and those games paid two to three times more coins than Duolingo's own.
Result: The Game Jam produced 23 qualifying games, which drew 3 million visits, while the hub logged 4 million, according to Monks. The entry to The One Show later cited more than 13 million visitors and over 15 million social views driven by user-generated content.
Holiday Dash — Amazon (2023)
Agency: The Gang · Platform: Roblox
A Roblox companion to Amazon's printed Holiday Kids Gift Book, the game opened in a forest lobby run by a fox and her animal crew. Players picked racing mini-games; finishing courses paid seasonal points and Amazon Tickets for Boxheads avatar items styled after Amazon's shipping box. Every two weeks a new item went to a community vote, and only the winning design was released.
Result: More than 7.7 million visits in three months, 30.8 million votes on UGC items and 778,000 UGC items claimed, according to The Gang. The 2024 edition, Joyful Horizons, drew over 30 million community votes.
FAQ
What does UGC mean on Roblox?
On Roblox, UGC means avatar items made by community creators rather than by Roblox: accessories, clothing and bodies sold on the Marketplace. Amazon's Holiday Dash let players vote on which Boxheads item came next; players claimed 778,000 UGC items in the 2023 edition.
Do UGC creators make money?
Some do. Roblox pays item creators 30% of a Marketplace sale, up to 70% when the price is well above the floor; inside an experience the creator gets 30% and the experience owner 40% (Roblox Creator Hub). Separately, platforms such as Noovid pay creators to film customer-style videos for brands.
Is UGC the same as influencer marketing?
No. Classic UGC is unpaid and made by ordinary customers or players; Wikipedia's entry contrasts unsponsored creators with sponsored influencers. Once a brand pays for a post, it is sponsored content, and the FTC says the payment should be disclosed.