Appcharge is an Israeli startup that has developed a Direct-To-Consumer platform for mobile game publishers. The firm raised $26 million in a Series A round of funding led by Creandum. Appcharge previously raised $5 million in seed funding.
A Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) platform for mobile games is a digital marketplace that allows game developers to sell their products and services directly to players, bypassing traditional app store intermediaries like Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store.
The ongoing antitrust litigation against Apple and Google has underscored the significance of direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategies within the industry, sparking a much-needed discourse on publisher autonomy and control. Regardless of the legal outcome, DTC has emerged as a potent strategy for publishers seeking to optimize revenue and deepen player engagement. The substantial demand for our platform from leading publishers is a testament to this trend. Concurrently, many publishers are facing increasing challenges in scaling user acquisition efforts post-ATT while maintaining profitability. Rising costs and market saturation have exacerbated these challenges, even for industry giants. By substantially reducing costs and increasing revenue through DTC sales, we empower publishers with a stronger financial foundation, enabling them to invest in future growth and sustain their games’ success. Our platform has facilitated $200 million in annual DTC sales and experienced a remarkable 3x growth in the last quarter.
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Built by industry veterans from Moon Active, Playstudios, Rovio, Huuuge Games and more, Appcharge provides publishers with the capabilities to build customizable web stores using own brand assets, and optimize player retention through a library of personalized gamified offers, monetization and AI-driven features. Publishers that use Appcharge as their Merchant of Record additionally become financially compliant worldwide in minutes — gaining support in over 500 payment methods, 80 currencies, and more.
“The gaming industry is undergoing a major transformation as DTC models gain momentum, driven by new regulations targeting traditional app stores along with rising user acquisition costs,” said Maor Sason, CEO of Appcharge. “Today’s publishers have a need to go direct-to-consumer. Everybody wins. Players get more value for their money and an experience that compliments gameplay, and publishers increase revenue and form stronger connections with players. Appcharge is pioneering the future of publishers retaking control.”