Company Announcements
In January, we closed a $40M Series C fundraise, backed by Blockstream Capital Partners, which further enables scaling our product suite as a full end-to-end money layer for games while empowering studios to level-up the financial relationship with their players.
To support this next phase of growth, the amazing team at ZBD continues to grow on a global scale across commercial, product development, and engineering functions.
On the commercial side, we brought in additional senior experience to strengthen our go-to-market across gaming and payments, including:
- Gordon Thornton, Embedded Accounts Commercial GTM Consultant
- Michael Podrid, SVP, Business Development (Payments)
- Kyle West, SVP Marketing
We also grew the product and engineering teams, adding senior talent to accelerate development across the payments stack as we bring to market a range of exciting products in H2.
At the same time, we expanded our payments infrastructure across the US and EU, increasing coverage and strengthening our ability to support real-money transactions at scale within game environments. This included continued work on compliance and licensing to support regulated payments, as well as improvements to banking and payments capabilities to enhance reliability and payout flexibility for both studios and users.
We contributed to ongoing industry discussions around embedded rewards and rewarded play. In Q1, this included a feature on the two and half gamers podcast, where we discussed how paying players actually made games more profitable, and an interview with PocketGamer.biz alongside TapNation we focused on how rewarded play is evolving. The interview highlights how sharing a portion of game revenue with players can improve retention and generate strong returns when rewards are tied directly to gameplay.
Product Development
ZBD’s product suite continues to expand, focused on how money moves in, through, and out of the game environments, giving studios full control of their payments infrastructure.
In Q1, we expanded payout options beyond a single method, adding:
- gift cards
- digital wallets (including Cash App)
- direct payout to bank (broader US rollout in Q2)
These diverse payout options give studios more flexibility in how rewards are delivered, help them maximize engagement and revenue across a broad consumer base, and make in-game earnings more accessible for users.
Alongside Earn, we are developing a full suite of products that power the full money lifecycle in games (money in, through, and out) while boosting player engagement, monetization, and loyalty., This suite will give studios more control over how value is distributed, accessed, and retained within their games. If you’re a mobile, PC, or console studio interested in an early look, feel free to get in touch, we’ll be sharing more soon.
Partnership Updates
ZBD Earn is now live across 60+ games, with adoption continuing to grow.
Existing partners including Fumb Games, Mobile Esports and PlayEmber are continuing to build on their integrations and apply embedded rewards across additional titles and use cases.
We’re also excited to welcome on board new studios in Q1, including Narcade, Included Games and Desypher, as they integrate embedded rewards into game genres such as match-3, racing and RPG.
Q1 conferences were a blast too. We loved connecting with partners and prospective studios at Pocket Gamer Connects London and GDC, showcasing upcoming products and spending time with peers across the industry.
At PGC London, we hosted our second edition of Game of Tones, a mega-party and karaoke night that became one of the standout moments of the week to let loose after a productive conference. See how it looked, and expect it back next year.
In Closing
A shift is clearly underway as the gaming industry pushes toward closer financial relationships with users, while also looking for ways to reduce reliance on platform fees that limit how those models can scale.
We’re continuing to expand the infrastructure that supports that shift, and working with studios to integrate it directly into live game environments.
If you’re exploring how to bring real-world value directly into your game, we’re happy to share how teams are integrating embedded rewards to boost engagement and LTV, while keeping the entire experience native to gameplay, with compliance and payouts handled end-to-end. Get in touch or let’s meet at MAU Vegas, Gamesforum Hamburg, and PGC Barcelona.