Steal a Brainrot is a multiplayer video game released on May 16, 2025 on Roblox. Developed by SpyderSammy, and owned by DoBig Studios, it revolves around buying and stealing Brainrots, characters based on the Italian brainrot meme which generate income over time. Steal a Brainrot is the second Roblox game to have surpassed 20 million concurrent users (CCU), the first being Grow a Garden.[1] The game was popularized on social media, where users have shared strategy tips and viral clips of upset children who had lost their Brainrots.[2]
Stealing Brainrots while fending off other players is central to the game.
The aims of Steal a Brainrot are acquiring Brainrots—voxel characters based on the Internet meme Italian brainrot—and building wealth.[2][3] The player starts with a base to store their Brainrots and a small amount of currency.[4] In the middle of the map, there is a conveyor belt offering players the opportunity to purchase Brainrots, which generate income every few seconds. Players progress by purchasing rarer and more expensive Brainrots[5] from the conveyor or stealing them from other players,[5] a gameplay loop comparable to the sport Capture the Flag.[6] To defend against theft attempts, the base has a button which generates a shield lasting 60 seconds.[4]
Players can purchase gear such as traps and items from the store to aid with defense or stealing, costing either in-game currency or Roblox's premium currency Robux. Players can "rebirth", resetting their progress in exchange for better stats and additional currency.[3] Like Grow a Garden, the developers host special events in which exclusive characters can be obtained. Kara Phillips of PCGamer described these events as a "sensory overload".[4]
Development and popularity
Alongside Grow a Garden, Steal a Brainrot is one of the most popular games on Roblox, with an average concurrent users (CCU) of one million.[7][8] In July 2025, Steal a Brainrot reached 7 billion visits, and had a peak CCU of 5 million players.[3][9] In August 2025, Steal a Brainrot saw a peak CCU of 20 million, surpassing Fortnite,[1] which previously held all-time CCU record of 15.3 million.[10] On August 23, an event featuring a mock "admin war" between SpyderSammy and Grow a Garden developer Jandel drove each game to break their respective CCU records:[8]Grow a Garden reached at least 22.3 million CCU,[11] while Steal a Brainrot became the second Roblox game to surpass 20 million CCU.[12][1] Additionally, the event drove Roblox to achieve a new platform-wide CCU record of 47.4 million players, beating the July 2025 record of 32.69 million.[8][12] On September 13, the game saw a CCU peak of 24 million, surpassing the Grow a Garden record.[13]
Epic Games officially licensed Steal a Brainrot for use in Fortnite Creative titled Steal the Brainrot. Released in July 2025, the replica beat the CCU record for a Fortnite Creative Island with its 400k CCU peak, breaking the previous record of 235k players achieved by Super Red vs Blue on May 2025.[14][15] On September 13th, the Island hit a new peak with 500k CCU, temporarily surpassing that of the official battle royale mode. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney celebrated the game's success through a series of retweets.[13][16] The popularity of Steal a Brainrot on Fortnite led Epic to add the ability for Fortnite Creative creators to sell in-game items for V-bucks (Fortnite's virtual currency) and earn revenue from that.[17]
In early September, Sammy voluntarily removed the Tung Tung Tung Sahur character from the game after a licensing dispute with its creator Noxa and the brand agency Mememtum Lab. The agency have stated that they are open to continued licensing talks.[18]
Reception
Kaitlyn Peterson from Screen Rant describes the game as "addictive" due to its "lack of complexity and straightforward gameplay loop."[19] Patricia Hernandez from Polygon criticized the game's pay-to-win mechanics, noting that "the best items are only available for cash," with server admins available for purchase.[2] Dominik Bošnjak of GameRant reported the game has attracted many cheaters, such as those who use automation scripts for cash collection and stealing. The game saw popularity on TikTok and YouTube, gaining tens of millions of views for stealing and strategy tips along with reactions of children crying after having their Brainrots stolen.[3]Steal a Brainrot won in the category Best Creative Direction at the 2025 Roblox Innovation Awards.[20]
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