Toby Fox facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Toby Fox
Fox in 2016
Born	Robert F. Fox (1991-10-11) October 11, 1991 (age 34) Manchester, New Hampshire, US
Other names	Radiation FwugRadiation
Education	Northeastern University (BS)
Occupation	Video game developer composer
Years active	2008–present
Works	Undertale Deltarune
Signature

Robert F. "Toby" Fox (born October 11, 1991) is an American video game developer and composer. He is world-famous for creating the hit role-playing video games Undertale and Deltarune. Before becoming a full-time creator, Fox made custom game projects and composed music for popular online stories like the webcomic Homestuck.

In 2015, Fox released Undertale, which turned into a massive worldwide success. Millions of players loved its friendly characters, fun humor, and peaceful game options. The game earned nominations for major awards, including the British Academy Games Awards and The Game Awards. After this success, Fox contributed music to many other games, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and several Pokémon titles. From 2018 onward, he led the development of Deltarune, an exciting multi-chapter adventure game.

Early life and musical beginnings

Robert F. Fox was born on October 11, 1991, in Manchester, New Hampshire. He grew up as the third of four brothers in his family.

Discovering video games and game design

Fox first discovered video games at age four when his older brother received the classic game EarthBound. Fox later shared that reading the text on screen helped him learn how to read. By age five, he was already drawing his own level designs inspired by the action game series Mega Man X.

During elementary school, Fox and his brothers discovered a software program called RPG Maker 2000. This tool allowed anyone to design their own role-playing adventures without complex code. Together, the brothers began making their own small games, starting with a project called Toby's Adventure. Around age ten, Fox also discovered Japanese indie games like the Touhou Project series, which inspired his love for fast-paced action and lively soundtrack tunes.

In 2012, Fox, aged 20, played the piano at PAX East.

Learning music by ear

Fox is largely a self-taught musician. Although he took basic piano lessons in second grade, he truly developed his talent in middle school by trying to copy his favorite video game songs on the piano by ear. He also played the trumpet in school bands throughout his teenage years.

During high school, Fox joined the online fan community Starmen.net, a website dedicated to EarthBound. To impress other members, he practiced modifying existing video games, a hobby known as ROM hacking. In 2008, he released the EarthBound Halloween Hack. This custom project included original music tracks, including the very first version of his iconic song "Megalovania".

In his final years of high school, Fox recorded piano versions of tunes from the famous webcomic Homestuck. The comic's creator, Andrew Hussie, noticed Fox's immense talent and invited him to join the official music team. Fox quickly advanced to become the team's music coordinator while attending Northeastern University, where he later earned his college degree.

Major video game projects

The breakthrough success of Undertale

The logo for Undertale

In 2013, Fox started working on his own completely original game called Undertale. He wanted to create an adventure game where players did not have to hurt any monsters to win. In the game, players explore an underground world full of funny, quirky creatures and can choose to talk, joke, or show mercy during battles.

Fox organized a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in June 2013 to help fund the project. He asked for $5,000, but passionate fans donated over $51,000 in just one month. Fox worked on almost every single part of the game by himself over 32 months. He wrote the entire story, programmed the systems, and composed all the soundtrack music. To help with the visual look, he partnered with talented artist Temmie Chang, who created beautiful character designs and animations.

When Undertale launched in September 2015, it quickly became an international sensation:

• The game sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide on computers and gaming consoles.
• Critics praised the clever writing, emotional story, and memorable soundtrack.
• It earned several major award nominations at the D.I.C.E. Awards and The Game Awards.
• Magazines frequently listed it among the greatest video games ever made.
• In 2018, Fox was named to the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list for rising game creators.

The huge popularity of the game also led to an appearance in Nintendo's fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In 2019, players could dress their Mii fighters as the beloved skeleton character Sans, complete with a brand-new arrangement of "Megalovania" made by Fox himself.

The multi-chapter adventure Deltarune

The logo for Deltarune

Fox originally dreamed up the concept for Deltarune back in 2011. While it features familiar faces and similar battle mechanics to Undertale, it takes place in a brand-new parallel world. In this universe, players control a human named Kris who teams up with classmates to explore magical Dark Worlds.

Fox chose to develop Deltarune as an episodic adventure release:

• Chapter 1 was released completely for free on Halloween in 2018 as a mysterious download.
• Chapter 2 came out in September 2021, also free, as a gift to help lift spirits during difficult global times.
• Chapters 3 and 4 launched together as a paid release on June 4, 2025, continuing the sweeping storyline.
• Chapter 5 arrived on June 24, 2026, advancing the mystery behind the Dark Worlds.
• Chapter 6 is scheduled for release in 2027, bringing the planned seven-chapter epic closer to its conclusion.

Unlike his first game, Fox assembled a dedicated team of artists, animators, and programmers to help bring the large world of Deltarune to life.

Composing music and creative collaborations

Beyond his own creations, Toby Fox is one of the most requested guest composers in the video game industry.

Music for other major games

Fox has shared his musical gifts across many different game studios and projects:

• In 2017, he composed tracks for the adventure game Hiveswap.
• In 2019, he collaborated with Game Freak to compose soundtrack themes for the role-playing game Little Town Hero.
• He contributed energetic battle music for Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019).
• He composed the main field theme and battle music for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (2022).
• He produced an official remix of Ed Sheeran's pop song "Celestial" for The Indigo Disk expansion pack.
• In 2024, he partnered with Japanese developer ZUN on a special music crossover combining melodies from Touhou and Undertale.

Voice acting and television work

Fox has also expanded into animation and voice acting. In 2023, he made his voice acting debut in the Cartoon Network animated series We Baby Bears, voicing a friendly skeleton named Jared. In 2025, he voiced the lead hero John Egbert for the animated pilot of Homestuck.

Charity work and community support

Fox regularly uses his platform to raise funds for important causes around the world:

• During gaming marathons like Games Done Quick, Fox has made large personal donations to medical charities.
• Special game bundles containing Undertale helped raise millions of dollars for emergency relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In September 2022, Fox organized an online charity sweepstakes on his website, raising more than $322,000 for children's hospitals and international youth aid.
• In 2024, Fox donated $20,000 to AbleGamers, an organization that helps gamers with disabilities access specialized equipment.
• In September 2025, Fox hosted a special tenth-anniversary livestream with gaming company Fangamer, raising over $361,000 for Doctors Without Borders.

Artistic style and inspirations

Fox's creative style is shaped by a deep appreciation for classic Japanese role-playing games from the 1990s.

Musical inspirations

Fox often mentions the soundtrack of Final Fantasy VI and the work of legendary composer Yoko Shimomura as his biggest musical influences. Her fast, dramatic battle themes inspired Fox to create energetic melodies with strong emotional beats. He also loves lively game tunes that use fun synthesizer sounds and catchy piano rhythms.

Storytelling and comedy

When writing game stories, Fox focuses on humor, warmth, and surprising plot twists. He has praised the courtroom mystery series Ace Attorney for showing how quirky, eccentric characters can make players laugh while still telling a serious, touching story.

Personal life

Fox often uses the Annoying Dog character as his online avatar and avatar stand-in.

Fox prefers to keep his personal life private. He rarely does video interviews. When he appears on camera, he often uses a white dog puppet, representing the "Annoying Dog" character from his games.

Fox has lived in Boston, Massachusetts for most of his adult life. He lives with a chronic health condition affecting his hands and wrists, which can make long hours of typing and piano playing painful. To keep working on his games without hurting his hands, Fox often uses speech-to-text software that turns his spoken voice into computer text. He speaks conversational Japanese and owns a friendly pet cat named Kikky.

Complete works and game credits

Major video game releases

Upcoming releases

Selected guest music appearances

• Hiveswap Friendsim (2018)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2019) – Special music arrangement
• Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019) – Battle Tower theme
• Omori (2020) – Special jukebox song
• Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost (2024) – Guest collaboration track
• Fields of Mistria (2024) – Guest soundtrack music

See also

In Spanish: Toby Fox para niños