How do mobile game teams balance revenue goals with a great player experience? It's a challenge every studio faces, and it's exactly what Igor will be discussing at @PocketGamer Barcelona. 📍 Panel: Finding the Right Monetization Balance in Today's Mobile Games 📅 June 15, 15:00 Moderated by: Felipe Marta, Ludor Igor Melniks, ZBD Frank Yan, Antihero Studios Katerina Maliaran, Burny Games Christopher Fady, Product in Games As competition increases and player expectations continue to evolve, finding a sustainable strategy is no longer just about revenue. It's about creating experiences that keep players engaged for the long term. If you're attending PGC Barcelona, join the conversation. #PGCBarcelona #MobileGaming #GameDev #Monetization #PlayerRetention

What does a manatee have to do with mobile game retention? More than you’d think. Welcome to the mobile gaming ocean, where attention is hard to keep, players drift away, and studios are looking for better ways to keep their ecosystems thriving. Enter the ZBD Manatee. With native rewards, ZBD helps studios give value back to players directly inside the game experience, creating stronger engagement, better retention, and supercharged LTV. A little strange? Yes. Memorable? Also yes. The point? Players stay, play, and monetize. Enable the manatee effect with ZBD: zbdpay.com #MobileGames #Retention #Gaming #Rewards

Next up after Hamburg is @PGConnects Barcelona 📅 You'll find the ZBD team at our booth catching up with partners and connecting with the industry to talk about what's next for boosting mobile game retention. Don’t miss Igor’s panel: 📍 Panel: Finding the Right Monetisation Balance in Today’s Mobile Games 📅 June 15 at 15:00 Want to connect in Barcelona? Book a meeting → zbdpay.com/meet-us-at-pgc-ba… #PGCBarcelona #MobileGaming #GameDev #Retention #Monetization #Gaming

We're excited to welcome Gordon Thornton as Chief Commercial Officer at ZBD! Gordon brings over 20 years of experience in gaming and payments, including leading commercialization at Sony and Xsolla. As CCO, he’ll be driving business development and marketing to further accelerate ZBD’s next phase of growth, pushing the boundaries of how money and games interact to drive retention and revenue for studios. Join us in welcoming him and swing by our booth at @PGConnects Barcelona to say hello (June 15-16). #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #Fintech #Gaming #Growth

Mobile game studios spent an estimated $25 billion on user acquisition last year. Yet by Day 30, most of those players are gone. The “spend-to-grow” model is evolving in 2026. Beyond UA, studios are doubling-down focus on player deeper retention and one strategy gaining momentum is investing directly in players through first-party rewards. Why it matters: • Players rewarded with real-money stay more engaged. • 60% of spenders say rewards make them buy more IAP • First-party rewards create value that isn't tied to ad networks or rising UA costs. Igor Melniks explores this shift in his latest @gamesforum article. Read more ↓ globalgamesforum.com/feature… #MobileGames #UserAcquisition #Monetization #Retention

Sustainable growth in mobile games is getting harder. More spend doesn’t guarantee results. And most monetization systems only reach part of your audience. ZBD Earn takes a different approach: ✅ It brings real-money rewards directly into gameplay, tied to progression and player actions. ✅ Studios can customize the rewards for specific user segments or roll them out to all users. Embedded rewards drive retention, engagement and monetization without disrupting the gameplay experience. More on how it works ↓ #GameDevelopment #MobileGames #Monetization #LTV

Rewarded play is evolving in 2026. At @Gamesforum Hamburg, we’ll be on stage discussing how studios can use real-money rewards to engage their entire player base, not just a fraction of new installs. The panel will explore how native in-game rewards can support retention, engagement, and LTV through a fully embedded experience that can be tailored by user segment, lifecycle stage, and player behavior. 📍 Panel: Cheat Code for LTV Growth: Reward All Users, Not Just New Ones 📅 June 9 at 14:15 Featuring: Peggy Anne Salz, Moderator Hajar Noreddine, ZBD Alvaro Zorrilla, GAMEE Oxana Fomina, Gradient Universe If you’re attending Gamesforum Hamburg, join us for the conversation. Want to meet the ZBD team during the event? Book a meeting → 22682105.hs-sites.com/meet-z… #GamesforumHamburg #MobileGaming #GameDev #Retention #Monetization #MobileGames

We’re heading to @Gamesforum Hamburg! The ZBD team will be there to talk about one of the biggest questions in mobile game growth right now: With installs slowing down, how do studios drive more value from the players they already have? Plus, join us for a panel on how rewarded play is evolving beyond acquisition and becoming a native in-game engagement layer that can boost retention and LTV across the whole player base. 📍 Panel: Cheat Code for LTV Growth: Reward All Users, Not Just New Ones 📅 June 9 at 14:15 Want to connect in Hamburg? Book a meeting → 22682105.hs-sites.com/meet-z… #GamesforumHamburg #MobileGaming #GameDev #Retention #Monetization #MobileGames

Cash Out To Bank changes more than just the payout flow. When in-game earnings land directly in a player’s bank account, rewards feel more tangible, usable and connected to real-world spending. That psychological shift matters for retention and engagement. Cash Out To Bank is now live with ZBD Earn 🎉 #GamingRewards #Gaming #Games #Rewards

As part of @pgbiz's latest Mobile Mavens feature, our SVP BD Igor Melniks shared his take on why mobile growth has become more demanding for new studios. The short version: success now depends far less on launch momentum and paid acquisition alone, and much more on what happens after the install. With older titles capturing the majority of mobile gaming revenue, competition for player attention and long-term engagement has become more intense. Studios need better ways to build sustainable relationships with players without relying on massive acquisition budgets. Read the full feature. pocketgamer.biz/mobile-has-b… #MobileGaming #MobileGames

Our first @mauvegas_ is a wrap! Big thanks to everyone who took the time to swing by our happy hour, booth, and panel! Based on all the conversations over the past few days, one thing is clear: the industry continues to push on innovation and loyalty, rewards, and user engagement are shaping the future of mobile gaming growth. If you missed us, reach out and let’s connect in Hamburg and Barcelona in a couple of weeks. #MAUVegas #MobileApps #GamingIndustry #UserEngagement #AppGrowth #Networking

We recently rolled out Cash Out to Bank, giving developers the ability to let players cash out their in-game earnings directly to their bank account, without leaving the game environment 🎉 Ben Cousens talked about the feature and how it fits into the future of player engagement on the two & a half gamers podcast with @BrabergFelix and @matejlancaric. Check out the clip to learn more. #Gaming #MobileGames #Rewards

Tuscany delivered 🇮🇹 This year, the ZBD team met in Italy. Since we’re fully remote and spread across different countries and time zones, offsites are one of the rare moments where everyone gets to be in the same place at the same time. And honestly, some things just work better in person. Ideas move faster, conversations go deeper, and collaboration feels easier when it’s happening between long lunches, coffee runs, and karaoke. The hackathon was easily one of the highlights again. Small cross-functional teams building ambitious ideas in a very short amount of time somehow always leads to some of the best energy of the week. Everyone’s now back home energized and excited for what’s ahead as we continue building next for our partners, users, and the future of embedded rewards. Until next year! #Offsite #TeamZBD

MAU Vegas is getting close! If you’re looking for a place to catch up with people across mobile gaming before dinner and the rest of the evening kicks off, join @ZBD, @ProdegeLLC and @MintegralInc for a private happy hour. 📍 Chez Bippy @ Luchini (MGM Grand) 🗓️ May 19 | 4–7pm PT Relaxed atmosphere, great people, limited spots. RSVP on the link. luma.com/6imgo5at #MAU #MobileGaming #GameDev

Cash Out To Bank is live 🎉 Earn in-game → cash out to bank → stay in the experience. Real value, accessible in ways users already know and trust. Read more 👇 zbdpay.com/blog/cash-out-to-…

Embedded rewards are getting increasingly recognized across both the gaming and fintech industries as an important part of sustainable long-term game growth. We’re thrilled to share that ZBD has been shortlisted as a finalist for: - PayTech Awards 2026 — Best Payments System for Gaming - MCV/Develop Awards — Best Financial Services Provider for the Games Industry #Games #MobileGaming

Q1 was a big one for ZBD: we closed a $ 40M Series C fundraise, added new payout options for users rewarded with ZBD Earn, grew the team, continued building out our US & EU payments infrastructure, and brought on new studio partnerships across multiple genres. More studios are looking for ways to make player activity carry real value, and to control how that value moves through their games. That’s what we’re building toward. Full recap 👇 zbdpay.com/blog/q1-2026-reca… #MobileGames #GameDeveloper #GamingDaily