Gaming

EMPIRE Leverages In-Game Advertising Within iOS’s #1 Sports Game To Bring Afro Pop Artist Kizz Daniel To Soccer Fans During The FIFA World Cup

Published

3 years ago

January 26, 2023

Reading Time: 2 minutes

American independent record label EMPIRE partnered with the world’s most advanced in-game advertising platform Anzu.io to reach gamers during the FIFA World Cup with an ad campaign for Afro pop artist Kizz Daniel’s latest single, “Cough”.

Kizz Daniel became synonymous with soccer after performing at the FIFA World Cup. Off the back of this success, his record label EMPIRE launched a cross-channel campaign to promote his new single, which he performed live in Qatar to a packed stadium of soccer fans, by tapping into the excitement of the global competition.

As gaming was part of the marketing mix, Anzu helped EMPIRE to tap into Soccer Super Star, a mobile game ranked number one in the sports games category on iOS and boasts over a million monthly active users globally (Newzoo). There’s an established synergy between music and sports gamers, with Comscore data showing that players of Soccer Super Star are up to 30 times more likely to visit music-related websites, which made it a perfect fit for EMPIRE to leverage Kizz Daniel’s performance.

Using Anzu’s geo-targeting capabilities, EMPIRE was able to serve the in-game ads to players within countries that were competing in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Intrinsic in-game advertising is already known for high attention and viewability levels, and this campaign was no exception, achieving a 99.91% in-view rate measured by Oracle Moat.

“We previously worked with Anzu on a campaign for another artist Babyface Ray and saw huge success and interest from players for his music. When we learned that Anzu was able to bring our latest campaign to the most popular sports title on iOS and allow us to hone in on our target audience of World Cup fans, working with them again was a no-brainer,” said Peter Kadin, SVP Marketing at EMPIRE.

“Using gaming as an extension of a real-world campaign or experience is nothing new, especially in sports games, as we are used to seeing ads in these environments in the real world, and in-game advertising allows advertisers to bring their campaigns to stadiums, courts, and arenas, enhancing game realism. However, this campaign was unique because it allowed us to help EMPIRE tap into the excitement of the FIFA World Cup and expose an overlap between sports and music fans,” said Natalia Vasilyeva, EVP Marketing & Strategy at Anzu.

Gaming

Geckos Games Launches Momentum – The Most Adrenaline-Charged Live Sports Game Ever Built

Published

18 hours ago

June 16, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

geckos-games-launches-momentum-–-the-most-adrenaline-charged-live-sports-game-ever-built

Geckos Games launched Momentum, a patent-pending real-time sports prediction game unlike anything in the market. THRILLZZ Free Social Sportsbook gone live as the exclusive launch partner on the opening day of the world’s biggest Soccer tournament.

Five Minutes. One Question. Pure Adrenaline.

Every five minutes of a live match, Momentum asks players one question: which team has the Momentum right now? Not who will win the game. Not what the final score will be. Who has the upper hand – this minute, on this pitch – based on every pass, attack, and pressure play happening in real time.

Makes it different from anything that has come before: the Momentum shift on a single event. A yellow card. A saved shot. A dangerous run. Every on-field event recalculates the balance – and players watch their position move with it in real time. It is not a black box. Players see each event land inside the game – the moment it happens on the pitch.

Then comes the timer. As the five-minute window counts down to zero, the tension becomes almost unbearable. Players who are in the win zone are watching every second, knowing a single event in the dying moments can flip everything. The last few seconds of every round are unlike anything else in sports gaming – raw, unscripted, impossible to put down.

Zero Latency. Official Data. Real Stakes.

Momentum is powered by an official match data with zero latency. Every event flows instantly into the game engine. There is no delay, no approximation. What players see is what is happening on the field right now.

This is not a simulation. It is not a simplified model. It is live sport, translated into a game in real time and that distinction is everything.

The post Geckos Games Launches Momentum – The Most Adrenaline-Charged Live Sports Game Ever Built appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Conferences

Xsolla joins Gamesforum Hamburg 2026 with D2C commerce keynote and panel

Published

1 week ago

June 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

xsolla-joins-gamesforum-hamburg-2026-with-d2c-commerce-keynote-and-panel

Xsolla will take part in Gamesforum Hamburg 2026 on June 9–10 at NORD EVENT Panoramadeck in Hamburg, Germany, with Jane Startseva, Vice President of Business Development, EMEA, scheduled for a keynote and a panel focused on direct-to-consumer (D2C) web shops and measurement.

On June 9 at 10:00 AM, Startseva is set to join Adam Smart, Global Director of Product – Gaming at AppsFlyer, for a 30-minute keynote titled “Web Shops and Attribution: Closing the Revenue Gap.” The session will focus on how developers track revenue performance for web shops and how attribution impacts user acquisition targets and growth planning, according to the company.

Later that day at 4:30 PM, Startseva will appear on a panel titled “The Belonging Economy: How Mobile Games Build Value Through Player Relationships” alongside Oliver Lindahl, Strategist & Behavioural Scientist at Sagely, and Pedro Alvin, Marketing Lead at Supercell. Xsolla said the discussion will cover player messaging, store optimization, new monetization opportunities, and trust in out-of-game purchase experiences.

“Being an Exclusive Global Partner of the Gamesforum series reflects how seriously Xsolla takes the European games market and the developers building here,” said Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla. “The shift to direct-to-consumer commerce is one of the most important things happening in this industry. Showing up at events like Hamburg, with partners like AppsFlyer, is how we help the industry move the conversation forward and build D2C businesses on a foundation video game studios and developers can actually measure.”

The post Xsolla joins Gamesforum Hamburg 2026 with D2C commerce keynote and panel appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Amusnet

Amusnet Brings Football Passion to New Heights with Stoichkov #8 Crash Edition

Published

1 week ago

June 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

amusnet-brings-football-passion-to-new-heights-with-stoichkov-#8-crash-edition

Feel the intensity of the stadium lights and the thrill of split-second decisions with Stoichkov #8 Crash Edition, a high-energy crash game from Amusnet where football excitement and rising multipliers collide. Inspired by legendary football icon Hristo Stoichkov, this adrenaline-fuelled experience places players right at the heart of the action, where instinct, timing and courage define every round.

From kickoff, the tension builds fast. Players place their wager and watch as the multiplier begins climbing higher and higher, increasing with every passing second. The challenge is simple but intense: cash out before the multiplier crashes. Wait too long, and the opportunity disappears in an instant.

Adding a strategic twist to the gameplay, the 50% Cash Out feature allows players to secure half of their progress mid-round while leaving the rest in play. It creates a dynamic balance between cautious play and daring ambition, turning every decision into a defining moment on the virtual pitch.

Driven by a Provably Fair algorithm, every round delivers transparent gameplay and unpredictable excitement, ensuring that each multiplier rise feels authentic and engaging. Combined with energetic visuals, football-inspired design and the unmistakable presence of the football legend Hristo Stoichkov himself, the game captures the emotion and pressure of a decisive match moment.

Fast-paced, competitive and packed with atmosphere, Stoichkov #8 Crash Edition transforms every round into a battle of nerves where football spirit meets high-voltage crash action. The whistle has blown, the crowd is roaring and the next legendary moment is only seconds away.

Multipliers

The game starts with a multiplier set at 1x and rises gradually and can go up to a max coefficient of 1,000,000. Multiplier can potentially crash at 1x, ending the game round.

50% Cash Out

Players can cash out 50% of their bet during the game round and continue playing with the remaining 50%.

Gamble

Play the game and multiply the winnings through the Gambling feature.

Jackpot Cards

The Jackpot Cards bonus game is triggered at random during the gameplay to allow players to win impressive jackpots.

The post Amusnet Brings Football Passion to New Heights with Stoichkov #8 Crash Edition appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.