#43 – Marcus Holmström: How Roblox Is Rewriting the Rules of Game Development

Ever wondered how to scale a gaming studio to over 200+ staff without raising a single dollar of VC funding?

In this episode, I sit down with Marcus Holmstrom, Co-Founder and CEO of The Gang, who shares how he built one of the world’s leading Roblox studios, and working with brands like FIFA, Netflix, Amazon, and Wimbledon, while pioneering the rise of UGC gaming.

We talk about how Roblox developers are actually making huge money from their games, what’s driving the UGC boom, and why more traditional studios are starting to take notice. Marcus also breaks down how to build a remote-first team, hire the right people, and create games that find product-market fit fast.

This is a practical, no-fluff deep dive into the business of modern gaming, from bootstrapping to global scale.

Connect with Marcus:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusholmstrom/
Website: https://www.thegang.io/
Press Kit: https://readymag.website/TheGang/Presskit-2025/
Strongman Simulator: https://www.roblox.com/games/6766156863/Strongman-Simulator

Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou

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01:10 Intro
03:03 How The Gang was founded
05:44 What Roblox really is (and why it matters)
07:47 Why Grow a Garden became the biggest game ever
09:25 How Roblox games make millions
13:03 Building 40+ games in 5 years
13:44 Working with brands like Netflix, FIFA & Amazon
17:40 From hobby project to 300+ employees
20:37 Why full-time staff beat contractors
22:50 Running remote-first studios pre-COVID
26:34 Using Discord as a digital office
29:43 Culture, communication & daily structure
32:04 Why the age demographics of Roblox matters
35:43 Why major studios are now building on Roblox
37:54 How monetization really works on Roblox
42:40 Welcome to Bloxburg: a case study
46:05 Why simplicity wins on Roblox
48:05 The Strongman Simulator story (1.5B plays!)
53:20 Parents, kids & spending on digital goods
58:06 Health-based gaming & motion integration
59:07 Hiring tips for scaling studios
01:05:29 Final takeaways & how to contact The Gang

#RobloxDevelopment #GamingBusiness #UGCgaming #GameDevPodcast #StartupGrowth