Company is developing animated projects based on 3 of the gaming giant’s most widely played titles - 'Natural Disaster Survival,' 'Barry's Prison Run,' and 'Deepwoken' - working with original creators to expand the properties for global audiences.
Baobab Studios has acquired exclusive film and television rights to a slate of widely played Roblox titles, including Natural Disaster Survival, Barry’s Prison Run, and Deepwoken, with plans to develop the properties as animated feature films and series in collaboration with their original creators.
The Redwood City-based studio shared that the selected titles, Natural Disaster Survival, Barry’s Prison Run, and Deepwoken, collectively account for nearly 10 billion visits and were chosen for their long-term engagement, multi-generational audiences, and established foundations for storytelling, rather than short-term popularity spikes.
Baobab is developing the projects with a strategy that combines its background in animation and games, working directly with creators and their communities to expand each property while maintaining the core experience that built their audiences.
"We're not just looking at scale — we're looking at what sustains," said Maureen Fan, CEO and co-founder of Baobab Studios. "Having built our own Roblox games, we sought titles that combine reach with retention, deepen engagement, and clear world-building that can carry powerfully into film and television."
Natural Disaster Survival, created by Stickmasterluke (Luke Weber), launched in 2008 and has generated more than 4.1 billion visits. The physics-driven environmental survival game has remained among Roblox’s top 50 experiences for 16 years, with gameplay centered on emergent, unscripted scenarios on an island environment.
"For nearly 20 years, Natural Disaster Survival has been part of the Roblox community, so finding the right partner to expand this world was critical," said Stickmasterluke. "Baobab understands our games because, as one of us, they make Roblox games themselves, and I fully trust them to authentically develop exciting new content for both the fans and new audiences."
Barry’s Prison Run, developed by PlatinumFalls (Osian Taubman-Edwards), has surpassed 4.1 billion visits in four years and accumulated more than 42 billion minutes of engagement. The title is associated with the “Cinematic Obby” genre, combining first-person gameplay, scripted sequences, and boss encounters with a character-driven comedic structure that has contributed to its popularity among younger audiences and online creators.
"I’ve always envisioned Barry’s Prison Run as more than a game, with a story and character that unfold more deeply over time," said PlatinumFalls. "Baobab understands my vision and the game’s storytelling potential, so I’m excited to see where they take it."
Deepwoken, developed by Monad Studios and led by Ragoozer and Arch_Mage, is a paid-access dark fantasy action RPG released in 2021. The title has generated nearly 1.5 billion visits and more than 50 billion minutes of engagement, and is identified as Roblox’s most successful paid-access experience, with a strong Gen Z audience and extensive community activity across platforms including YouTube, Reddit, and Discord.
"Deepwoken's dark and magical setting has left a lasting impact on our fans, letting their imaginations run wild," said Ragoozer and Arch_Mage. "Baobab have shown they're passionate about the world we've created alongside our community, and we're thrilled for our fans to see its stories told in a wholly new medium."
Baobab Studios is an Emmy Award-winning animation studio that develops projects that span animation, games, film & television, interactive experiences, and publishing. With the guidance of advising luminaries like Pixar co-founders Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin, and former Roblox and Marvel CFO, Matt Finick, the studio has released 7 animations to commercial and critical acclaim, won 10 Emmys, including 4 Best Interactive Emmys and 2 Annie Awards.
The company is led by Fan, who previously served as VP of Games at Zynga, where she oversaw six studios — including the original FarmVille franchise; CCO Eric Darnell, director of all four Madagascar films ($3.5B box office); Co-CCO Osnat Shurer, producer of Moana (#1 streamed movie); and CTO Larry Cutler, who led DreamWorks Animation's Character Tech. The company is backed by Disney and Comcast and has produced multiple award-winning projects, including several Emmy-winning interactive works.
Source: Baobab Studios
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
