From $0 to $500M: Building the DTC Infrastructure for the Next Era of Mobile Games

TL;DR

We’ve raised a $58M Series B round led by IVP, with participation from all our existing investors. In just one year, Appcharge has:

• Grown 14 times year over year
• Processed over $500 million in transactions
• Onboarded 60-plus mobile game publishers, including some of the world’s top-grossing titles
• Launched major products like our iOS Payments SDK and AppDirect - our unique solution for sideloaded games.
• Expanded to a 100+ team, with deep mobile gaming roots
   

We’re building the infrastructure for a new era of mobile game monetization. One that gives publishers ownership, flexibility, and the tools to grow on their own terms.

We raised $58 million. Here’s why.

Nine months ago, we closed our Series A. At the time, the mobile industry was just starting to test the limits of going direct-to-consumer.

Since then, we’ve seen the shift accelerate. Catalyzed by landmark regulations opening up Apple and Google's walled gardens, publishers are no longer looking at DTC as an experiment. It’s become a core strategy to improve margins, increase retention, and build long-term value with their players.

Appcharge is at the center of that shift. We’ve grown fast, but with purpose. This new round gives us the resources to keep building the tools publishers need to scale their direct channels, while deepening our product suite to support what comes next.

How we got to $500 million in transactions

We spent the last few years building the products and systems to support this new wave of monetization. A few standout achievements:

1. Seamless experiences that feel like the game

Pixel-perfect web stores

Our stores aren’t cookie-cutter. Each one is custom designed to feel like an extension of the game. That visual and emotional continuity leads to higher conversion and better player trust.

Checkout customization

Publishers can align the look and feel of the checkout flow with in-game seasons, events, and themes, keeping players immersed and engaged, even outside the app.

Game Portals

More than a store. Game Portals offer community features, content, leaderboards, and more - creating a central hub for out-of-app engagement and retention.

2. Industry leading monetization tools that drive results

Rolling Offers

A progression-based offer format that consistently delivers. In one launch, 64% of players who made a first purchase returned for a second - driving 56% of all store revenue in 24 hours.

A/B testing engine

Test offer bundles, layouts, pricing, and flows in real time. Publishers iterate based on live player behavior, not hunches.

iOS Payments SDK

Launched in May, our SDK lets publishers activate compliant external payments from within native iOS apps in the U.S.- handling all the legal and technical complexity behind the scenes.

AppDirect

A plug-and-play tool for managing APK distribution and version control. Lets publishers deploy and update sideloaded Android apps without friction or compliance risk.

3. Everything else that makes DTC sustainable

Merchant of Record & dispute handling

We’re not just a processor - we handle the entire backend of payment operations, from sales tax to local entity creation. And with strong fraud detection and high win rates in payment disputes, we protect our partners' revenue and reduce their overhead.

Attribution with AppsFlyer

Thanks to our new S2S integration, publishers can now track DTC revenue across web and mobile, attributing every transaction to UA and re-engagement campaigns.

Impact with Dots.eco

Our partners can embed eco-rewards directly into web store offers, letting players contribute to initiatives like tree planting or ocean cleanup with every purchase. It’s good business with purpose built in.

The opportunity ahead is massive

DTC is powering the biggest reallocation of revenue the mobile games industry has seen, one that’ll create stronger, more resilient business models for publishers over the long run. The numbers speak for themselves.

Our research shows that if the top 10 iOS publishers in the U.S. move their IAP volume to external payments with a 5 percent fee structure, they could collectively unlock $1.6 billion in additional annual margin.

That’s money that can be reinvested into development, live ops, and user acquisition. And that’s just iOS in-app payments - one piece of the puzzle. 

Scaling the team alongside the platform

Appcharge now has more than 100 people and whether in product, CS, marketing, finance, or ops, you’ll find real mobile games experience. We’ve hired people who have built web stores at billion-dollar franchises. People who have shipped features for massive live ops calendars. People who understand monetization loops and player psychology as deeply as they understand payments and infrastructure.

We’re here to serve the publishers building the next generation of iconic games. And that requires building like we’re one of them.

Final thoughts

The past three years have been the most intense and rewarding of my career. We went from prototype to platform. From early pilots to powering $500M a year in transactions and working with the biggest publishers in the industry. From a hypothesis to a fast-growing business that’s reshaping the economics of mobile gaming. And yet, it still feels like day one.

We’re not here to replace the platforms. We’re here to rebalance the ecosystem.To the customers building with us, thank you. To our investors and team, thank you. To Maor, my co-founder and Appcharge's visionary CEO, thank you. To the publishers considering new DTC partners, we’d love to talk.

The future of mobile game monetization is being written now. Let’s build it together.