Now You Can Experience ‘Hamilton’ on Roblox

Roblox has transformed the groundbreaking Broadway musical “Hamilton” into an interactive virtual world, offering a fresh and immersive experience to a younger audience.

“‘Hamilton’ has worldwide recognition. Roblox has 66 million daily active users worldwide. What a perfect match,” Matt Edelman, president and chief commercial officer of Super League — which designed and built the online experience — told The Associated Press ahead of Thursday’s official launch.

In Hamilton Simulator, players use their own avatars as they rub shoulders with characters from the musical and negotiate 10 levels set during the Revolutionary War. It starts in the docks of New York and the goal is to free the city from the British yoke. Fittingly, the music-filled game doesn’t require real money from players.

“This was to create a fun experience for this community to introduce them to ‘Hamilton’ if they don’t already know it, or to honor and inspire their passion if they’re already fans,” Edelman says.

The game is blessed by writer-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose hit musical chronicles the rise and fall of statesman Alexander Hamilton, highlighting his orphaned, immigrant roots and the quasi-Greek tragedy of his downfall.

Roblox is the biggest immersive gaming platform on the planet, with companies like Mattel, the NFL, Dave & Buster’s and Cirque du Soleil all flying the flag, as well as fashion brands Vans, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Givenchy and Gucci.

“If you’re an intellectual property owner and you want to connect with the younger generations—really the under-25s and especially the under-18s—that’s where they hang out, that’s where they learn. More than half of Generation Z expects to find a brand in an immersive space for the first time,” says Edelman.

In Hamilton Simulator, players assemble a team of characters from the musical—perhaps James Madison and Charles Lee at first, and later more dignified characters like Maria Reynolds and Angelica Schuyler—to take on the Redcoats. Wins earn coins that can be used to arm better companions when ambushed by stronger enemies.

The 10 locations include a tavern, George Washington’s office, town squares, the ballroom where Hamilton and Angelica fall in love, and the Battle of Yorktown. Each level features songs from the musical, such as “Guns and Ships,” “You’ll Be Back,” and “The Schuyler Sisters,” which are used as a sort of sonic laser to wear down and defeat enemies.

“It was really important to us that the player could connect with the characters and the music. And that really inspired the overall approach to the game,” says Edelman.

The simulator currently ends in the middle of the musical, when British rule has been defeated and the nascent country needs its founder to guide them to become a nation of laws. The creators hope that the simulator can also grow.

“We have a lot more to develop in the future, and we’re really excited about what we can do with this experience moving forward in the coming months to really expand the gameplay, expand the story, and really listen to our players and what they’re doing,” Edelman says.

Every scene is carefully executed, with ceremonial swords, burning candles, flowers, artwork, sandbags and smoke. David Korins, who designed “Hamilton” for the stage, consulted on the simulator’s layout and provided adjustments. (There are also Easter eggs like The Public Theater, a nod to the off-Broadway space where “Hamilton” premiered.)

“‘Hamilton'” has achieved something that feels timeless. And if you can achieve that with intellectual property, you can bring it to any channel and be successful because it has an inherent sense of belonging everywhere,” says Edelman.

The origin of the idea came from Maggie Brohn, global producer of “Hamilton” and COO of Adventureland LCC, executive producer of “Hamilton” and other Broadway shows.

He had considered a marriage between a musical and a playmaker, and finally turned for advice to his brother Edelman, who knew the perfect platform.

“During COVID, my kids were glued to Roblox,” she says. “They became our test group as we went through this.”

The hardest part was taking the award-winning linear narrative and turning it into an interactive experience. The breakthrough came when it was designed as a simulator, one of the most popular Roblox genres.

“When you bring intellectual property into a medium that it wasn’t born from, if it doesn’t already have the inherent components that belong in that new medium, it’s not easy,” Edelman says.

The makers of Super League and “Hamilton” suspect their simulator will attract guests who have never heard of the musical but become hooked on its appeal — just as the cast album became a hit with people who hadn’t yet seen the show.

“The music brought people to ‘Hamilton,’ in some cases, before the actual production of the show brought them there,” Edelman says. “I don’t think this will be any different if we achieve our primary goal, which is to have this fun gaming experience that engages the Roblox community.”