Dotplay has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to further develop its web-based mobile game technology platform. This will allow mobile developers to bypass traditional app stores and cut acquisition costs without compromising user experience.
Former AppLovin and King Games executives, Iskander Pataudi and Bartosz Alksnin, cofounded dotplay. Transcend Fund led the $1 million pre-seed funding round. The company will use this capital to expand dotplay’s platform, onboard more game developers and hire additional engineers.
“Dotplay has a bold vision to empower game creators and rekindle innovation in the mobile ecosystem. Mobile distribution is profoundly diminished and it is harder than ever for developers to launch and scale products.” said Shanti Bergel, managing director at Transcend. “dotplay is laser focused on delivering a revolutionary modern approach to the market for both developers and players, and we’re incredibly excited to partner with them.”
Dotplay and off-store mobile monetization
With rising user acquisition costs and app store fees cutting into profits, dotplay seeks to disrupt the mobile gaming market. The company’s direct-to-consumer distribution channel lowers these costs and fees while enhancing shareability. Instead of making users download apps to try games, the company reduces the friction to play new games.
“We believe the mobile web can compete with app stores for distribution. Off-store monetization and distribution are set to accelerate across all formats, and we’re here to lead that charge. Our technology transforms store-dependent apps into cross-device, instantly playable mobile web games, making mobile gaming more accessible for players and cost-effective for developers,” said Pataudi, CEO and cofounder of Dotplay. “In fact, mobile web user acquisition costs are at least 40% lower, and we’re only scratching the surface there.”
Dotplay also unites recent technological advancements that push the boundaries of what’s possible on mobile. These developments include Unity WebGPU, WebGL, Progressive Web App (PWA) support, browser and device improvements, and the widespread availability of 5G.
“By uniting advanced technologies, dotplay is breaking new ground in mobile web gaming. This moment represents a unique opportunity for developers to embrace a more direct and efficient pathway to reaching players,” said Alksnin, CTO and cofounder of Dotplay.
The dotplay platform itself provides an AI-powered toolset for game conversion, performance optimization, and an SDK for in-app purchases, ad monetization, and retention features. This suite of tools allow mobile-native developers to transition to the platform easily.
“These innovations have led to two major breakthroughs: first, players can now hardly tell the difference between games played natively or on the mobile web, which is amazing. Second, unlike before when users had trouble remembering web URLs and retention suffered, we’ve now managed to make mobile web apps function just like native apps. They occupy equal space on a player’s device, allowing for saved progress and push notifications.”
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