In 2022, Xbox and WNBA team the New York Liberty signed a new multi-year brand partnership and wanted to kick the new deal off with a slam dunk and shine a spotlight on women’s sports as a whole.

Xbox and the Liberty built the first gaming-inspired official WNBA secondary basketball court which the NY Liberty played an IRL games on. Then, Xbox partnered with Roblox to create a virtual version of the court on the Roblox platform so millions more could enjoy it across the world.

New York native and 11-year-old sports journalist, Pepper Persley kicked off and hosted the activation within Roblox. and were also able to unlock unique virtual items for their avatars across millions of other Roblox experiences, including a special New York Liberty jersey, Xbox belt bag, and Xbox Shutter Shades.

Much like their intended Gen-Z audience, Xbox firmly believes in believes in supporting amazing female achievements, especially in sports. So Xbox decided to invest just as much as they do in the NY Nets of the NBA in the NY Liberty of the WNBA — creating a message of unity and equality for the entirety of women’s sports.

The activation had a total reach of 12 billion. This included: 11 million social impressions, 3 million video views, and 600,000 engagements in just two days. And an additional 2,400 separate mentions across mainstream media. All the hype caused a 330% year-over-year partnership revenue increase for the NY Liberty.

On Roblox, 11 million users visited the virtual court and logged 2 million total hours while another 2 million Liberty-branded items were unlocked and redeemed.