Game monetization support company Xsolla has partnered with Alibaba Group’s Alipay to integrate support for their payment method into games which they monetize. Xsolla, who we reported previously on collaborating with Adikteev, works with numerous developers including Roblox, Smite and Raid: Shadow Legends. Alipay meanwhile is a widely used digital payment system in China and Asia, it’s part of the ecommerce giant Alibaba Group, founded by Chinese businessman Jack Ma.
According to the release that accompanied the announcement, “With Alipay+ solutions, Xsolla can provide coverage of digital wallets and other payment methods through direct integration in the Southeast Asia market. Moreover, the partnership will allow Xsolla to provide Enterprise, Mid-Tier, and Indie gaming partners with customer-targeted marketing promotions and reach new players by allowing them to pay for their games and in-game items with their preferred local payment methods.”
Alipay and the forty Xsollas
Given Alipay is already used frequently across Asia, making it usable for payment methods on Xsolla’s platform will allow more coverage of the area. We can see a similar solution on a local level with DTAC, the Thai telecoms company with their platform Gaming Nation, collaborating officially with Kasikornbank and integrating their MAKE mobile finance app into the Gaming Nation platform.
Although previously the standard payment has been using credit cards or other direct methods, nowadays, where people are more security conscious or do not use a card, digital payment has become more popular. In increasingly digital economies like Japan, South Korea and China, especially the former, digital payments and banking have been the standard for many years now. Accessibility is key in this case, as many Asian citizens use mobile finance in place of traditional banking, as noted by the IMF.
President of Xsolla, Chris Hewish confirmed that Japan was a primary target as well, saying, "We are making great strides around the world to help our partners market, sell and monetize their games in over 200+ regions, including Korea, China, Malaysia, India, and now Japan." Xsolla also recently expanded into the Indian market which has seen burgeoning growth recently and becoming increasingly important for mobile as well as gaming in general.
Given the difficulties Tencent and other Chinese companies have been facing domestically due to zero-covid regulations and tightening government restrictions, it’s no surprise that they want to expand operations further afield.
