Over the past decade, Las Vegas-based rewarded play pioneer PLAYSTUDIOS has accumulated a large portfolio of free-to-play mobile games that give players opportunities to earn real-world rewards. The platform connects players who earn loyalty points by playing any number of the company’s best-in-class casino and casual games to rewards from a variety of well-known international entertainment, retail, and hospitality brands.
In an industry that is always progressing, PLAYSTUDIOS is constantly seeking opportunities to grow and evolve into new and dynamic technologies. Earlier this year, the company took its first steps toward incorporating the blockchain into its offerings after acquiring WonderBlocks, a startup founded by former PLAYSTUDIOS COO Linda Lee.
“I was part of the wave in the early 2010s, when the free-to-play model disrupted console gaming,” said Lee, who was recently named EVP and GM of playBLOCKS. “It was incredible to see how many people adopted mobile and social gaming really fast and completely overshadowed console games. This coming decade is the blockchain and Web3 disruption decade. There’s so much innovation that can happen.”
Lee worked for PLAYSTUDIOS from 2012 to 2017, where she gained experience in gaming and loyalty marketing, and found new applications for her expertise in digital advertising and retail media. She left the company to explore other interests, which led her to launch WonderBlocks.io, a blockchain-based loyalty platform that allows game developers to build Web3 play-to-earn capabilities easily.
“When I started my own company, I applied a lot of the concepts I learned at PLAYSTUDIOS to a blockchain solution,” said Lee. “My goal with WonderBlocks was to create a kind of ‘blockchain loyalty program in a box’ for Web2 game developers who wanted to move into the play-to-earn space. Now that we’re part of PLAYSTUDIOS, we want to use blockchain to tokenize a loyalty and rewards program that goes beyond a single game. The idea is that gamers can eventually earn and use a universal loyalty currency across all the games they play, and have access to valuable rewards that they can truly own on chain.”
PLAYSTUDIOS’ new playBLOCKS division expands the company’s leadership position in ‘rewarded play’ by leveraging blockchain technologies and economic models that have the potential to deliver more engaging and rewarding experiences to players. When PLAYSTUDIOS launches its new Rewards+ platform next year, it will incorporate new capabilities and offer a more secure marketplace for both players and rewards partners to connect.
“PLAYSTUDIOS has around 11 years of experience in the world of rewarded play they created, and we’ve seen a significant lift in engagement, retention, and monetization for players using our existing loyalty program,” said Lee. “I find it extremely exciting to see how the blockchain will play a role in further evolving the platform as the metaverse, Web3, and other emerging technologies come into focus.”
This article was published through Cointelegraph Innovation Circle, a vetted organization of senior executives and experts in the blockchain technology industry who are building the future through the power of connections, collaboration and thought leadership. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Cointelegraph.
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