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Anzu Brings In-game Ads to Animated Sci-Fi Game Virtuverse

Published

5 years ago

October 27, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Today, Anzu.io, the world’s leading in-game advertising platform, announced a new partnership with the game developers of Virtuverse, a third-person PC-based massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The deal will allow advertisers to display non-intrusive blended banner and video ads inside the animated fantasy game. Advertisers looking to connect with gamers in North and South America, Europe, and Russia will benefit the most as these are the most active regions for the game.

Virtuverse is built on the Unreal Engine which is what enables the game to have such captivating and stand-out graphics, a factor that attracts plenty of players and places the game in a premium category. Players can venture into any of the different fantasy lands, defeating monsters and collecting the spoils of war which can be traded for in-game items or exchanged for real money. While gamers, who average an unprecedented six and a half hours of playtime per session, explore futuristic worlds, they will encounter video and banner ads displayed on immersive billboards and interior screens in built-up settlements. These objects naturally fit into the futuristic game, with the ads enhancing the environment.

Since its first early access release in 2018, in addition to regularly adding new content, the development team has prioritized community building and listening to player feedback, which shows their ongoing commitment to creating a game that their dedicated fans love playing.

Virtuverse’s team is committed to keeping the game within the free-to-play model and supporting its costs through blended in-game ads. The game’s dedicated community has been vocal about supporting this monetization method, according to CEO and Founder Fin Yeates. The new partnership will contribute to what Yeates refers to as the ‘gaming economy’. Yeates said, “Virtuverse seeks to utilize Anzu to drive down costs for its players and offset operational costs with an immersive, in-game advertising system. Anzu’s the right partner for this!”

As players gravitate towards free-to-play games instead of paying around $60 per game, developers are actively looking for alternate ways to fund their businesses. In-game advertising has become a hot topic because it provides developers with a stable income stream that doesn’t rely on players paying for games. It also gives developers an opportunity to reduce the selling price of games without risking their bottom line. Anzu’s platform is the answer industry players have been waiting for. It provides gaming studios with a sustainable revenue stream, gamers with free game content, and advertisers with the ability to increase brand awareness through in-game ads that are non-disruptive and respect the gamer experience.

Anzu already works with big advertisers including Samsung and Vodafone, and gaming companies such as Ubisoft, Unfinished Pixel and Vivid Games to bring ads to games in the sports, racing, and simulation categories. With this partnership, Anzu extends its game genres to include animated fantasy, abating the doubts that industry had regarding how natural ads could look when placed in such an environment. Once again, Anzu has proved that the solution can work in any type of game content.

“Gamers won’t tolerate disruption anymore so we created a solution that works for them, game developers, and advertisers,” Anzu’s CEO and Co-founder Itamar Benedy said. “Many people were unsure of how video and banner ads could be harmoniously blended into an animated game, but we are happy to prove them wrong through our partnership with Virtuverse.”

Danny Gordon Head of Studio at DEGEN Studios

Zoomania: DEGEN Studios’ wild new frontier

Published

20 minutes ago

April 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

zoomania:-degen-studios’-wild-new-frontier

This isn’t an expedition. It’s the fittest that survive.

DEGEN opens the cage door to Zoomania, a 5-reel, 4-row video slot situated in a realm where instinct reigns and survival is far from assured.

Set in a landscape of steel, shadows, and flashing neon, Zoomania presents players with a lineup of powerful beings like lions, gorillas, and reptiles, each contributing their unique impact to this extremely high-volatility game.

A key aspect of Zoomania is the Top Feature Row, positioned above the reels, which can trigger strong modifiers at any time. Expanding Wilds, multipliers, Wild Converters, and even Super Scatters can appear unexpectedly, altering the grid and forming wins that seemed impossible moments before.

The outcome is a fundamental game that continually changes. One instant the reels seem stable, the next a feature activates and the result changes drastically.

Zoomania presents several bonus paths, each featuring varying levels of intensity. From the dynamic Prison Break feature to the unpredictable Feral Instinct and the extremely rare Beast Mode, the game enables players to encounter increasing degrees of disorder as the session progresses.

Danny Gordon, Head of Studio at DEGEN Studios, said: “Zoomania shows a different side of DEGEN. It looks vibrant, but there’s an eerie edge running through it, and the gameplay keeps shifting under your feet. That tension creates something wildly unpredictable, where no two sessions play out the same.

Step inside. Trigger the chaos. Unleash the wild.”

The post Zoomania: DEGEN Studios’ wild new frontier appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Affiliate Succes

Gaming in Europe Webinar — Inside the Rise of Illegal Affiliate Marketing: Tactics & Countermeasures

Published

20 minutes ago

April 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

gaming-in-europe-webinar-—-inside-the-rise-of-illegal-affiliate-marketing:-tactics-&-countermeasures

To raise awareness of the increasing issue of illegal affiliate marketing affecting licensed markets, Gaming in Europe will conduct a webinar called “Understanding the rise of illegal affiliate marketing: Techniques & solutions” on Thursday, April 16, at 14:00 CET.

An increasing issue

Due to the rising significance of online platforms – particularly in conjunction with limitations on broadcast and print advertising – affiliate marketing has emerged as a more vital route for participants to discover and locate the iGaming operators that suit their requirements.

The battle for recognition

Unauthorized affiliates, along with the larger entities supporting them, not only enhance the exposure of illicit offers; they frequently also manage to diminish the visibility of licensed operators and affiliates advocating licensed offers.

This webinar will detail the tactics that unlawful affiliates employ to enhance their own visibility while diminishing that of their legitimate rivals. Additionally, this webinar will examine the actions that legal affiliates, licensed operators, and regulators can implement to reduce the effects of unlawful affiliate marketing.

A problem affecting all of Europe

Since offshore online gambling operators and their related illegal affiliates typically function on a European or even worldwide scale, this webinar will be pertinent to stakeholders in all regulated or soon-to-be-regulated online gambling markets, such as Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland, and others.

#TakeBackTheMarket

Founder Willem van Oort of Gaming in Europe stated: “Aligned with Gaming in Europe’s larger goal to assist legal stakeholders against unlawful and unfair competition – concisely captured as #ReclaimTheMarket – we have opted to examine more closely the reasons and consequences of the rising influence of illegal affiliate marketing.” We will examine some of the dubious tactics employed by illegal affiliates and also investigate what advocates of the legal market, including regulators and licensed operators, can do to combat this.”

Speakers

Timothy Malmros Genach, expert in SEO, Magenti Media

Dr. Andreas Ditsche, Chief Executive Officer, iGaming.com

Frank op de Woerd, Hoofdredacteur, CasinoNieuws

Sign-up

Participation in this webinar is complimentary. Tap here to sign up.

The post Gaming in Europe Webinar — Inside the Rise of Illegal Affiliate Marketing: Tactics & Countermeasures appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Albert Zorrilla

Zitro Wins 2026 EXPOJOC Innovation Award

Published

20 minutes ago

April 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

zitro-wins-2026-expojoc-innovation-award

Zitro has been honored for the second consecutive year with the EXPOJOC Innovation Award, a recognition that positions the company as a leading example of innovation within the gaming industry and highlights its ongoing ability to bring new products to casinos, bingo halls, gaming venues and bars across Spain.

The award was accepted by Albert Zorrilla, General Manager of Zitro Spain, who expressed his gratitude on behalf of the entire company: “Receiving this award for the second consecutive year is a great honor for everyone at Zitro. It is also a reflection of the dedication and effort our team puts into developing products that truly make a difference for our clients — helping them drive better results from their operations and continuously offering them more innovative and competitive offerings.”

Zitro’s strong commitment to innovation is also evident in the significant investment the company makes in R&D, which has enabled it to develop in-house technology, expand its portfolio, and further strengthen its international footprint. A clear testament to this is its two technology campuses in Barcelona and Bangalore, together spanning over 20,000 square meters dedicated exclusively to game creation and development.

The post Zitro Wins 2026 EXPOJOC Innovation Award appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.