Gaming Platform Forge Reinvents the Games Marketing Playbook with Launch of New Community-Led Growth Tools for Game Developers

Forge, Inc. :

SAN FRANCISCO – July 25, 2024 – Forge, a leading games rewards and engagement platform, is excited to announce a massive update that reinvents the way games grow their communities by giving developers new tools to launch out-of-the-box loyalty programs so that they can easily acquire, engage and retain players by offering in-game items as rewards for playing and becoming promoters of their game. 

Since its beta launch at the end of 2023, Forge has been steadily growing an active user base of players looking for new games and ways to earn rewards for playing and engaging,  generating proven results by driving hundreds of millions of user engagements to a curated set of beta game partners. Now, Forge is opening up its platform with the launch of all-new self-service tools so that any game developer can get started for free, or upgrade to paid packages to unlock more of Forge’s capabilities. 

"We believe that game developers should spend their precious time and resources building great games, and not worrying about how they will reach players through traditional distribution channels that have become increasingly less effective," said Kun Gao, CEO at Forge. "With this evolution of Forge, we're giving developers new resources and capabilities to create gamification that attracts players to their game, and converts average fans into brand advocates and promoters.”

When game developers leverage Forge, they can target players based on their verified gaming history so that they can market to the exact kinds of users they know will be interested in their genre and attract them to join their communities by offering game content as rewards. This is in stark contrast to traditional games marketing channels which have become increasingly inefficient and lack gamer-centric targeting features and gamification functionality. 

Forge’s loyalty programs are easy to set up, highly customizable, and can be catered to a developer's unique needs at any stage of game development from pre-alpha awareness building to post-launch in-game retention. Players can earn loyalty points in a variety of ways, including reaching in-game milestones, posting content about the game on social media, joining and engaging in the game’s community, or by referring their friends. 

A key highlight of the even more accessible Forge platform and toolset is that it democratizes user acquisition for games and uses a more gamified user engagement model. These solutions are also self-service, giving teams full control and the ability to build custom programs that uniquely fit their game, without no coding needed. Additionally, developers can deploy a multi-channel effort to find players organically, from X, Steam, and Discord, and connect with verified creators and influencers who are supporters of their games and who have a proven track record of driving meaningful results. 

"Forge has been an amazing partner for our team at Xterio," said Jeremy Horn, COO at Xterio. Their unique approach to loyalty programs and points campaigns has been effective in driving hundreds of thousands of real, engaged users to our ecosystem."

"Working with Forge has been instrumental in rewarding our community and helping our title flourish,” said Kasei, CEO at Portal Fantasy. “We're proud to have been one of the first Forge Partners and it's been a pleasure working with the team since the beginning - they have been true professionals in every aspect!”

Alongside the launch of Season 2, Forge is also proud to announce a select group of games that will be utilizing Forge Loyalty Programs, including The Sandbox, Ember Sword, Portal Fantasy, Party Icons, MetalCore, Captain and Company, OneTap, and Gas Hero, with more partners to be announced soon. 

Forge is now available for integration for all, offering developers a comprehensive toolkit to attract verified gamers and build custom programs that fit their games. For more information about Forge and its innovative solutions, visit forge.gg.

Founded by gaming pioneer Dennis “Thresh” Fong, Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao, and Cyence founder George Ng, Forge originated as a project within GGWP, an AI-powered game moderation platform that the team launched in 2020, Forge’s mission is to make user acquisition and community engagement accessible and effective for all developers, enabling them to focus on creating amazing games. 

The platform launched in late 2023 with an $11 million seed funding round, led by Makers Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Animoca Brands, with participation from Hashkey Capital, Polygon Ventures, Formless Capital and Adaverse. Forge’s existing investors include industry-leading strategics such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Riot Games, and Sony Innovation Fund. Forge’s angel investors include gaming industry leaders Riot Games founder Marc Merrill, Twitch founders Emmett Shear and Kevin Lin, TSM founder Dan Dinh, Kabam founders Kevin Chou and Holly Liu, YouTube founder Steve Chen, Krafton CEO CH Kim, former Discord CMO Eros Resmini (The Mini Fund), and ESL founder Ralf Reichart. 

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About Forge

Forge is a leading games marketing platform dedicated to helping developers grow their communities and drive engagement in their games. Launched in 2023, Forge provides game developers with powerful, no-code tools to create customizable loyalty programs that turn players into passionate advocates and active participants. Forge’s mission is to make user acquisition and community engagement accessible and effective for all developers, enabling them to focus on creating amazing games. With a vibrant community of over 1 million users, Forge empowers developers to build lasting relationships with their players, fostering a new era of creativity and innovation in the gaming industry. Game developers and gamers alike can register at forge.gg to start their journey.