Gaming

The future of the gaming industry: brand loyalty and retention, Exclusive Q&A w/ Achille Traore, CEO of White Label Loyalty

Published

4 years ago

September 26, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The gaming industry is highly competitive. Game developers only have one chance at making a user’s experience memorable. If a gaming company fails to capture user attention, customers will likely move on to another game or platform. Achille Traore, CEO of White Label Loyalty, discusses the opportunities awaiting gaming brands to create more loyal customers.

What are the main goals and objectives of brands in the gaming industry?

Most brands in the gaming industry are striving for the same thing: customer retention. The industry is well known for high engagement rates, but it’s also well known for low retention rates.

Player retention is important for gaming brands because existing customers are very valuable in the long run. It’s much easier to upsell and cross-sell to loyal users. Plus, the cost of acquiring new customers is becoming more and more expensive.

The gaming industry faces a number of challenges. What are they?

The first challenge is about engaging casual players and persuading them to play more frequently. And while there are many factors that contribute to this, including the quality of a game and the ability to market it effectively, gaming brands ultimately need to have a deep understanding of their customers.

The second challenge is knowing how to add value to a customer’s gaming experience. Not all users will find value in the same things. For one user, the value of a game may lie in the ability to customize characters with exclusive skins. For others, the value may lie in joining a community to meet other gamers.

Finally, gaming brands need to know how to break the barriers for people who haven’t gamed in a long time, or have never tried gaming before.

When it comes to gaming, how would you define loyalty and engagement?

A user that is truly engaged will spend a significant amount on in-game purchases.

Another way gamers show their loyalty is by engaging with communities via social media or forums like Reddit.

Loyal players can also become ambassadors for gaming brands. These players are more likely to engage with a brand outside of the game – they’ll spend money on equipment (such as a new console or PC), merchandise, and event tickets.

How does a gamer become loyal?

Loyalty often forms as a result of rewards. Players want to be rewarded. Whether it’s for completing a time-bound challenge, or unlocking different levels in a game, rewards add to a feeling of competition and accomplishment.

Gaming companies that reward customers for engagement can build real, long-term loyalty.

In order for gaming companies to better understand and engage their customers, what can they do?

Gaming companies must collect detailed data about their users to understand what drives them. Brands can use this data to build specific audience segments, which allows them to personalise and tailor marketing strategies to each customer profile.

Loyalty programs are an effective way to gather detailed information about user behaviour, needs, and preferences. When a gaming brand understands its customers, they can create customised rewards for each player segment, resulting in higher engagement and retention rates.

What are the best ways to reward players in the gaming industry?

With the right software, gaming brands can reward any kind of activity. For example, rewards could be given to streamers who refer games to others. Rewards could incentivise new customers to pick up their controllers again. Or, rewards can simply be used to show appreciation for those who dedicate their time and attention to a game.

Playstation Stars, a new loyalty program in the industry, rewards players for engaging with specific campaigns. Campaigns range from simply playing a game, to earning specific trophies or getting first place in a league table in your local area. Sony announced that the program uses a new type of reward – digital collectibles: “digital representations of things that Playstation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games”.

What other opportunities await gaming brands?

With rewards, gaming companies can drive whatever specific behaviours they would like to see more of. For example, if a gaming brand wants to focus on new customer acquisition, they can build referrals into a rewards program. A fully-rounded loyalty program boosts acquisition as well as retention. While customers can do this on their own via social media or word of mouth, loyalty technology makes it as easy as possible for them to refer a game to family and friends.

There are so many different ways rewards can be used. From early access to a game, to free in-game currency, rewards help make a user’s experience more memorable and keep them engaged long-term. But rewards won’t be effective if gaming companies don’t understand what their customers actually want. That’s why it’s vital to start with data. Then, build a loyalty program that is based on what gamers find truly valuable.

Bone Croo Studios

Tequity Publishing Launches “Cats Balls”

Published

7 hours ago

May 12, 2026

Wladimir P.

tequity-publishing-launches-“cats-balls”

Tequity, the technology partner behind some of the industry’s most scalable and customisable gaming solutions, has announced the latest high-octane release through its Tequity Publishing vertical, Cats Balls.

Developed by Bone Croo Studios and powered by The Fortune Engine technology, Cats Balls is a high-energy, pachinko-style experience that transports players back to the 1980s – an era of loud riffs, bigger hair and alley cats with rock god ambitions.

Cats Balls breaks the traditional slot mould, trading spinning reels for a storm of steel balls dropping like a drum solo. Packed with punk attitude, the game invites players to crank the amp, unleash the balls and watch the feline cast of guitar heroes shred.

The title serves as the latest premier showcase for The Fortune Engine, highlighting the platform’s flexible maths and game templates. This technology allows studios to move beyond conventional formats and create bold, unconventional experiences that resonate with a new generation of players.

The launch of Cats Balls further solidifies the mission of Tequity Publishing, which provides a distribution and aggregation framework designed to help ambitious studios launch at speed and scale. Through its RGSaaS model, Tequity Publishing provides the full infrastructure, distribution and publishing framework, allowing studios to focus entirely on game creation. With RGS-to-RGS, Tequity offers a technology-first approach for studios already operating their own RGS, enabling them to scale more quickly and deliver through Tequity’s global operator network.

Krzysztof Opałka, CEO at Tequity, said: “The release of Cats Balls is a perfect example of why we built Tequity Publishing. By removing the technical barriers to entry, we enable studios like Bone Croo to bring their wildest creative visions to life without compromise. Seeing this punk-inspired pachinko title hit the market via The Fortune Engine proves that our infrastructure is the go-to choice for high-impact, innovative content.”

The post Tequity Publishing Launches “Cats Balls” appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Exprexion

Flexion Launches Mobile Service Suite Exprexion

Published

4 days ago

May 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

flexion-launches-mobile-service-suite-exprexion

Games marketing company Flexion has announced the launch of Exprexion. This integrated suite of services provides game developers with a single point of entry to alternative app stores, creator-led marketing and direct-to-consumer sales.

The mobile gaming industry is entering a new era. After years of market domination by Google and Apple, game studios are looking for ways to be in command of their own destiny. High store taxes and rising acquisition costs have squeezed profits for too long. The Exprexion suite of services gives developers the freedom to innovate in market engagement and express their ideas directly to users, moving beyond the traditional constraints of the major app stores.

The Exprexion suite consists of three core services:

Exprexion Markets: This service manages all the technical and operational requirements of distributing games on alternative platforms including Amazon, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and ONEstore. Flexion handles everything from integration to platform relations, typically adding more than 10% in incremental revenue. By taking on these tasks, Flexion reduces upfront and operational costs for developers while reducing risk.

Exprexion Creators: This service focuses on influencer-led marketing and social media strategy. By managing the creative process and relationships with influencers, Flexion helps studios find high-value players who engage with games through organic interest. This approach allows developers to reach bigger audiences through broader market channels and innovative user acquisition.

Exprexion Direct: This service enables developers to sell to their players no matter where those players are. By moving transactions outside of the major app stores, studios can make better margins and reclaim the 30% fee typically charged by platform owners. The service uses proven payment technology from trusted suppliers, like Xsolla, to ensure the buying experience remains smooth.

“The mobile industry has reached a point where the old methods of finding and monetizing players are no longer sustainable for many game studios. For years, developers accepted high fees and limited data access as the cost of doing business. Now, the emergence of a more open market and the shift toward direct-to-consumer relationships have changed the math. We launched Exprexion because the market is finally in a place where developers can feasibly run their own stores and distribution networks without the massive operational overhead that used to hold them back,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO and Founder of Flexion.

Flexion’s technology, people and expertise are unique in the mobile market. The Exprexion services are fully integrated with one another, meaning each service perfectly complements the others. They can be combined seamlessly or used in any combination to generate profit and grow audiences bigger than ever before.

Flexion currently manages 37 top-grossing games. Four of these titles have reached the Top 10 grossing charts on Google Play. By providing a decentralised path to growth, Exprexion serves as a vehicle for a studio’s financial freedom.

The post Flexion Launches Mobile Service Suite Exprexion appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Funding

EasyWin closes second seed round at $20m valuation

Published

6 days ago

May 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

easywin-closes-second-seed-round-at-$20m-valuation

Real-money casual puzzle tournament startup says an EU private investor backed the April 2026 round.

EasyWin, a U.S.-based real-money gaming startup, said it has closed its second seed funding round at a $20 million valuation. The company announced the round in April 2026 and said it was backed by a private investor from the European Union.

The company previously closed its first seed round in December 2025 at a $15.5 million valuation. That round included funding from Velo Partners, Vladimir Nikolsky and several private angel investors.

EasyWin was founded by Ivan Leshkevich, a former executive at mobile game publisher and developer Mamboo Entertainment. The startup, which currently has a team of eight, says it has built a global tournament platform for casual puzzle games with cash prizes and operates across major markets.

Since launching in 2025, EasyWin reported 25% month-over-month growth in user spending and a 4.9 average user rating. It also said it has expanded into 12 countries with localized legal opinions and payment infrastructure, received PayPal approval for its MCC, and completed payments-stack integrations with global providers.

The company also said it has obtained GLI certification “confirming compliance with U.S. regulations for skill-based gaming products.” Leshkevich said: “In the long term, we aim to become a leading global skill-based gaming platform. To achieve this, we focus on a strong product USP and new AI-based dev tools.”

The post EasyWin closes second seed round at $20m valuation appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.