LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, is attending and presenting at GDC (Game Developers Conference), the game industry’s premier professional event, from March 20 through March 24 in San Francisco, California, USA.
Xsolla is hosting five informative speaking sessions on Tuesday, March 21, including a keynote from President Chris Hewish. Xsolla will hold all their sessions in Room #2024 in Moscone West. Additionally, Xsolla is exhibiting at Booth S549 South Hall, starting on Wednesday, March 22, where attendees can meet with Xsolla experts and preview the latest products and solutions powered by Xsolla.
“We’re excited to be back at GDC to continue sharing Xsolla’s trending content,” said Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. “My experience at GDC has been engaging, as I get to talk to industry peers and professionals from around the world about the gaming industry’s past, present, and future, which I find very compelling.”
Xsolla Cloud Gaming
Reaffirming its belief in the future of cloud technologies, Xsolla is powering its Cloud Gaming solution to help developers aggregate multiple technologies and streaming vendors with fewer steps and less time to help improve the speed to market for its partners.
As the video game industry has grown over the past several years, so have the cloud-based technologies that help businesses operate. Xsolla plans to integrate the pre-built tools with local vendors and leverage the Xsolla global infrastructure to help create branded online experiences where players can play on any device. Xsolla believes that by bringing more games to the cloud, the integration costs and time to launch games will continue to decrease.
With the launch of the Cloud Gaming solution, Xsolla will also help increase the availability of games to players around the globe and provide them with the ability to pay as they go for their gaming experiences. Players can now demo games online previously unavailable to them in their region and only pay for the time they played the game. Developers will gain crucial insights into user behavior and revenue projections to aid in future game builds and updates for their players. With the cloud experience, everyone can win and enjoy the game.
To learn more about Xsolla Cloud Gaming, visit: https://xsolla.events/gdccg
Xsolla and Mastercard Partnership
Xsolla and Mastercard have secured a partnership that will combine Mastercard’s technology, network-level expertise, scale, and trusted connections with Xsolla’s platform to create a simplified, customizable, and more accessible payment experience for players and developers. Mastercard has been a strong supporter of the gaming community for many years, including an extensive global esports partnership with Riot League of Legends. To further enable cardholders to tap into their passions, Mastercard is coming together with Xsolla to shape the future of commerce in gaming – by offering a new Pay with Points solution for the industry.
Mastercard and Xsolla are committed to creating game-changing solutions that address the needs of developers and publishers and their gamers, developers, and creators. The gaming payment experience today is far from frictionless. More than 40% of consumers say they need help to buy in-game currency, and more than 30% say it takes too many steps to make online gaming purchases. Nearly 30% say the gifting process could be more efficient, according to Mastercard research.
Mastercard and Xsolla will collaborate on various innovations that use card and account-based solutions and services beyond payments to enhance checkout experiences, simplify in-game currency gifting, improve creator payout processes, and more. To do this, Mastercard will integrate their Pay with Points loyalty solution into Xsolla’s Pay Station product, enabling cardholders connected to Mastercard’s rewards network to seamlessly purchase in-game currencies and digital goods, or send gifts to friends and family using their earned loyalty points. The companies are also evaluating Mastercard parental control capabilities and other identity verification and authentication solutions to combat growing first-party fraud (when a legitimate purchase is made online but later disputed) in the youth gaming community.
To learn more about Pay with Points, visit: https://xsolla.events/gdcpwp
Xsolla Digital Distribution Hub for Carriers
The Digital Distribution Hub solution is a single portal for online and offline distribution channels and brands that create and distribute entertainment content for their users. With this solution, game developers can partner directly with telecommunications carriers to market, distribute and sell games and in-game goods through a single app or online portal and for their games to be included in carrier promotional bundles. Developers can provide games and content to be distributed and sold through the carrier’s online store and webshop.
Carriers can use Xsolla’s unique network by offering exclusive content, entertainment experiences, and promotions to acquire new users through games currently on Xsolla. They can also retain existing customers by providing exclusive gaming perks, content, and upgrades to which competing carriers would not have access.
Through the Digital Distribution Hub, carriers can provide a wider variety of entertainment, content, and games to a diverse consumer base. At the same time, consumers can use their favorite carrier apps or digital marketplaces to make gaming-related transactions along with their everyday purchases – all in one place with a few clicks.
To learn more about Xsolla Digital Distribution Hub, visit: https://xsolla.events/gdcddh
Do you want to learn more about our powerful flagship commerce offerings that provide developers with a simple and customizable checkout experience? Please find below details about our scheduled speaker sessions and a link to book a meeting with our team in person at GDC!
ENJOY THE GAME: INDUSTRY STATISTICS AND TRENDS 2023
Tuesday, March 21 | 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Join long-time industry veteran and President of Xsolla, Chris Hewish, in a thought-provoking talk about recent industry performance and upcoming trends, based on proprietary and public data, as well as insights from partners and Xsolla’s extensive network of gaming professionals. Topics covered in this presentation will include new emerging markets, the impact of ongoing consolidation, how artificial intelligence impacts the workforce, the rise of user-generated content, the future of NFTs, and how evolving visions of the metaverse will shape the industry as we know it.
WHY NOT GO DIRECT TO YOUR CONSUMERS?
Tuesday, March 21 | 10:50 am – 11:50 am
What are your top challenges as a developer? User acquisition and incrementality? Marketing and contacting your player base can open up many opportunities to grow your game. Join Ron Scott, Regional Director, Americas, Xsolla, as he speaks with industry pros to learn how they succeeded by engaging directly with their customers.
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO EXPECT FROM 2023?
Tuesday, March 21 | 1:20 pm – 2:20 pm
We all learned a lot from last year, and we look forward to seeing what 2023 has in store for all of us in the gaming industry. Join Sam Gaglani, EVP of Global Business Development & Partnerships at Xsolla, as he speaks with industry experts and leaders who will build upon what they wish they had known and share their vision for the gaming industry in 2023.
THE NEW REALITIES OF A GREAT INDIE GAME
Tuesday, March 21 | 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Let’s delve into the new realities of a great game, from ideation to funding to launch and everything in between. Building a successful game business can be a challenge. It starts with a great game and team, followed by the necessary funding to make it a reality. But what comes next? What happens after you use those funds to create and launch your game? Join Justin Berenbaum, GM, Xsolla Funding Club, as he covers how to ensure your game succeeds and reaches its maximum potential.
GIVING GAMERS MORE REWARDING WAYS TO P(L)AY
Tuesday, March 21 | 3:50 pm – 4:20 pm
The gaming industry has always been focused on making the most exciting games possible, embracing the latest technologies, and encouraging gamers to play more. The payment experience in gaming should support these goals. With the rise of microtransactions, subscriptions, emerging digital assets, and more, payments in gaming are everywhere and growing.
In this fireside chat, Jen Premisler, SVP, Fintech Solutions at Mastercard and Berkley Egenes, CMO at Xsolla, will discuss the challenges gamers face with in-game payments and how next-generation payment technologies and loyalty solutions will make the experience seamless, secure, and rewarding.
XSOLLA GAME NIGHT
Tuesday, March 21 | 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Join Mattel, Deconstructor of Fun, and Xsolla for a fun-filled game night on Tuesday, March 21! And we’re not talking video games – we’re going analog! Enjoy Mattel classics like UNO, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, and many more. Play with fellow game enthusiasts, meet great people, and socialize early ahead of GDC! Doors open at 6.00 pm, with snacks and soft drinks to keep you powered up. Games wrap up at 8:30 pm. We’ll save you a seat!
Register for Xsolla Game Night
With Xsolla’s global game commerce experts, discover how we empower developers to make more than a game and launch a successful gaming business.
For more information on how to attend speaking sessions and connect with Xsolla at GDC 2023, visit: https://xsolla.events/gdc23
About Xsolla
Xsolla is a global video game commerce company with a robust and powerful set of tools and services designed specifically for the video game industry. Since its founding in 2005, Xsolla has helped thousands of game developers and publishers of all sizes fund, market, launch, and monetize their games globally and across multiple platforms. As an innovative leader in game commerce, Xsolla’s mission is to solve the inherent complexities of global distribution, marketing, and monetization to help our partners reach more geographies, generate more revenue and create relationships with gamers worldwide. Headquartered and incorporated in Los Angeles, California, with offices in Berlin, Seoul, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, and cities around the world, Xsolla supports major gaming titles like Valve, Twitch, Roblox, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Take-Two, KRAFTON, Nexters, NetEase, Playstudios, Playrix, miHoYo, and more.
For additional information and to learn more, please visit: xsolla.com
About Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all. www.mastercard.com
Contacts
Derrick Stembridge
Global Director of Public Relations, Xsolla
+1 (919) 480-0002 | d.stembridge@xsolla.com
Jen Langione
Global Communications, Mastercard
+1 (917) 408-2941 | Jen.Langione@mastercard.com
