Hoboken-based ZBD has launched a new embedded financial infrastructure platform designed to help video game publishers manage money moving into, within and out of games.
The company, which describes itself as the money layer for games, said the platform is intended to support transactions as users earn, spend and receive payouts, expanding ZBD’s reach from mobile games into PC and console titles.
ZBD said game economies increasingly need to support creators, player-to-player commerce and esports prizes within the gaming experience. Existing payment systems, the company said, often were adapted from other industries and generally support one-way transactions rather than ongoing financial relationships between publishers and players.
The company said it has been working since 2019 to build the technology and secure licenses for an embedded payment stack for games. ZBD has raised $90 million from investors including RAINE, Square Enix and Lakestar, and said it is a licensed payment provider in most U.S. states and across the European Economic Area.
Its rewards and payments technology has been used in hundreds of mobile games, including Idle Bank from TapNation, the company said.
The new platform includes embedded accounts, embedded payouts, embedded rewards and branded debit cards. ZBD said the account product allows studios and publishers to integrate licensed accounts directly inside games, supporting direct deposits, real-money peer-to-peer marketplaces, creator economies and compliant cash-out options.
The payout product is designed for publishers that need to pay players, creators and esports competitors through options including bank accounts, Cash App, gift cards and push-to-card. The rewards product integrates real-money rewards into gameplay, progression milestones and live operations events, while the debit card offering allows studios to connect real-world spending with in-game currency or other game-related benefits.
“Money has been part of the video games experience for as long as I can remember, but the big shift is that consumers now expect two-way financial relationships with publishers,” Gordon Thornton, chief commercial officer at ZBD, said. “Studios can now evolve their financial interactions with players, turning a one-way relationship into a two-way loop that drives engagement, revenue and loyalty.”
ZBD said game developers have begun adopting the new embedded technology. 1047 Games, developer of Splitgate and Empulse, is using ZBD’s embedded payout technology for a real-money referral feature, while cross-platform publisher Joygame has introduced ZBD Embedded Rewards.
Other publishers working with ZBD include TapNation, Udo Games and Turborilla.
“Retention is critical for games to succeed today, and game publishers need to start looking beyond legacy growth playbooks to boost LTV and long-term profitability,” John Wright, CEO of Turborilla, said.
ZBD said its infrastructure supports on-demand processing, micro-payouts at fractions of a cent, compliance and fraud protections.