Xsolla partners with Mastercard to provide players with frictionless secure & rewarding digital experiences

Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, has announced a partnership with Mastercard to simplify and customize payment process for players and developers. While announcing new solutions and feature releases during their quarterly release week, Xsolla also declared that it is expanding its Digital Distribution Hub into the global telecommunications industry and its global audience of 7.3 billion mobile phone users. Lastly, developers will soon have a new way to reach a larger audience worldwide by connecting more number of players through the cloud and offering a new pay-as-you-go model.

Our vision is to make gaming more widely available, to get games into the hands of more players, make them more accessible to anyone, anytime, and anywhere through the cloud

Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla

“At Xsolla, we’re excited about the potential opportunities of cloud gaming. Our vision is to make gaming more widely available, to get games into the hands of more players, make them more accessible to anyone, anytime, and anywhere through the cloud,” said Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. “We are committed to supporting developers. We make it easier for them to reach their audience by bringing together the streaming technology behind their games and giving them the power to create immersive branded online experiences for players worldwide.”

Pay with Points

Mastercard and global video game commerce company Xsolla announced plans to collaborate on frictionless, secure, and rewarding payments for gamers – from enhanced checkout experiences using credit card loyalty points to simple in-game currency gifting to improved creator payout processes and more. The partnership will combine Mastercard’s technology, network-level expertise, global scale, and trusted connections with Xsolla’s platform to create customizable and more accessible payment experiences for players, developers, and creators.

Mobile devices have been fueling gaming growth among all demographics and regions, with nearly 3.2 billion people – nearly half the world’s population – estimated to have played games in 2022. But the digital commerce experiences that fuel developers’ innovation in gaming have not kept pace with the growth. 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 work together to enable innovative card and account-based solutions and services to improve digital experiences in payments and beyond for gamers. To kickstart this game-changing partnership, for the first time, Mastercard cardholders will be able to use Pay with Points to seamlessly redeem their loyalty points for in-game purchases – this solution will be integrated into Xsolla’s Pay Station product. Players will also have the opportunity to gift in-game currency to friends and family. The companies are partnering to solve challenges in the gaming industry and prioritize consumer protections, including using Mastercard’s authentication and fraud detection capabilities to give parents control before their child makes in-game purchases.