PlaysOut recently completed a $7 million seed round of financing, with a post-investment valuation of $70 million. The multi-engine mini-game platform has received support from well-known investment institutions such as OKX Ventures, KBW Ventures and Pacific Century Group, and is actively laying out a market expected to be worth $6 billion to $10 billion. In this article, co-founder Jassem Osseiran shared the significance of this round of financing and shared PlaysOut's plans for the future development of embedded games.
Osseiran said that this round of financing is a "key step" for PlaysOut, and the funds will be used in three core directions: expanding the mini-game ecosystem, establishing strategic partnerships, and exploring high-growth markets such as the United States, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia.
"This funding allows us to focus on creating high-quality mini-games, expanding the ecosystem, and reaching key partnerships with super apps," Osseiran said. "We are building a seamless and immersive way for users to easily experience mini-games in the apps they use every day. This round of financing will accelerate this process."
Strategic investment beyond capital
This round of investors not only provided financial support, but also brought strategic advantages to PlaysOut in different regions and industries.
“OKX Ventures helps us deepen our presence in Web3, optimize our token strategy, and reach a large crypto-native user base,” said Osseiran. “KBW Ventures strengthens our presence in the MENA market, while Pacific Century Group creates significant opportunities for us in the tech and media sectors in Asia.”
With the support of these strategic investors, PlaysOut is expected to efficiently respond to industry challenges and accelerate its scale expansion.
Sleeping Giants: Rise of the Minigames
PlaysOut is betting that mini games will become a new frontier for digital entertainment. In China, WeChat mini games have generated billions of dollars in revenue, but the global market still lacks the corresponding infrastructure to achieve seamless expansion.
“Currently, outside of China, there is no mature infrastructure globally that allows developers to easily publish, monetize, and provide incentives to users,” Osseiran said. “This is where PlaysOut’s opportunity lies.”
The PlaysOut plan empowers platforms such as Telegram, Discord, and YouTube, allowing developers to reach a large number of users at low cost and promote the global development of the mini-game ecosystem.
Osseiran compared PlaysOut to "Steam for mini games", and its embedded SDK simplifies the developer access process while providing the platform with monetization and user interaction tools. "For developers, PlaysOut provides a global audience, simplified integration, and powerful monetization capabilities; for platforms, it is a solution that can increase user engagement and generate new revenue without having to reshape the architecture."
Connecting Web2 and Web3
Although Web3 has higher ownership attributes and monetization potential, most players do not care about blockchain technology. PlaysOut's strategy is to achieve seamless integration of blockchain functions without affecting the gaming experience.
“Most players care about the quality of the game, not the Web3 technology,” Osseiran said. “Our goal is to ensure that the user experience is smooth, intuitive, and fun.”
PlaysOut embeds blockchain technology in its underlying architecture, allowing players to truly own game assets while optimizing the in-game economic system without having to directly engage with complex encryption mechanisms.
PlaysOut's rapid expansion is due to its cooperation with Web2 and Web3 giants such as Tencent Cloud, OKX, Aptos, and TON. "Tencent Cloud provides us with technical support for global deployment, while Web3 partners bring community resources and blockchain infrastructure." Osseiran said, "We are not only pursuing cooperative brands, but also looking for strategic partners who can truly accelerate our growth."
PlaysOut's future plans
As giants such as LinkedIn, Meta and Netflix are increasing their investment in the gaming business, PlaysOut hopes to become an infrastructure provider that supports seamless integration of games in all applications.
“We are redefining Gaas,” said Osseiran. “Our platform redistributes successful games to the scenarios where they are best suited, enabling any application — large or small — to increase user engagement and monetize through games.”
PlaysOut plans to launch its SDK in May, enabling developers to build and publish games more easily. In addition, the platform's token issuance (TGE) will further optimize the incentive mechanism and drive growth.
"Our commercial product is already in BETA testing on Android, and iOS users will soon be able to experience it through TestFlight," Osseiran revealed. "We are moving forward at a very fast pace, and this is just the beginning."
With the support of strong investors, PlaysOut is driving the innovation of the mini-game ecosystem step by step and reshaping the global interactive entertainment experience in a seamlessly integrated way.
