Xsolla Explained

Xsolla
Former Name:2Pay
Type:Private
Industry:Fintech
Founded: in Perm, Russia
Founder:Aleksandr Agapitov
Hq Location City:Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California
Hq Location Country:U.S.
Area Served:Global
Num Employees:500
Num Employees Year:2022

Xsolla is an American financial technology company that makes payment software for video games. It was founded in 2005 in Perm, Russia, by Aleksandr Agapitov. As of 2022, it had 500 employees. The company's core product is Pay Station, a suite of tools for integrating payment systems.[1] It can be used to accept more than 700 payment types in more than 200 countries.[2] Xsolla software was used in approximately 2,000 video games in 2021 and the company had revenues of approximately 100 million.

History

Xsolla was founded in 2005 by Aleksandr Agapitov as 2Pay in Perm, Russia. The company moved its headquarters to Los Angeles, California, in 2010, and was renamed Xsolla the following year.[3] [4] The firm added support for Russian gamers to use cash kiosks to add funds to their Steam accounts using physical currency in 2011, and partnered with ZipZap in 2012 to accept new payments from those without bank accounts.[5] [6]

In 2021, it announced plans to lay off 150 employees following the company's use of artificial intelligence to analyze employee work habits. Agapitov made multiple statements about the layoffs that were received poorly by the public and the press.[7] [8]

Agapitov left the company in 2022 and Konstantin Golubitsky was named his replacement in February the same year.[9] [10] [11]

The company made a series of acquisitions in the 2020s, including data visualization firm Slemma in 2021 and AcceleratXR, a server technology provider for live service games in 2023.[12] [13]

Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called for a boycott of the company that year due to the company continuing to do business in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Xsolla leadership said its partners were aware of its operations in Russia and that it would continue to operate in the country while its partners chose to serve Russian gamers.[14] The same year, former Xsolla global accounting vice president Emil Aliyex sued the company for wrongful termination and retaliation against a whistleblower, alleging he was fired after he reported to his superiors that the company had mishandled 40 million. Xsolla denied the allegations.[15]

Pocket Gamer named Xsolla "Best Service Provider" at its 2022 Mobile Game Awards.[16]

The firm published its first State of Play report in 2023, an analysis of the video game industry.[17]

Agapitov returned as CEO in February 2024 following two years away from the company. [18] [19]

Bloomberg reported in 2024 Aleksandr Agapitov transferred over $100 million from company accounts to personal accounts and back. Following this, there were wrongful termination lawsuits from employees who raised concerns. These cases were either settled or dismissed with prejudice.[20]

Products

Xsolla products were used by 300 game publishers, including Valve Corporation, Gameforge, and Wargaming by 2012[6] and by 2021, its software was used by 1,500 game companies on more than 2,000 games.[21] [22]

Xsolla Accelerator was launched in 2022 as a program for indie game developers that provides funding for early-stage companies as well as educational programs, and liquidated the parent company of its Russian division, Xsolla Russian Holding LLC. Xsola also updated its Pay Station software in 2022 to allow for easier creation of web shops and raising funds through startup accelerators; and Xsolla Payouts, a system providing payments to content creators. The Payouts update streamlined the payment process.[23] [24] By August 2022, Xsolla Pay Station was used by 1,000 game developers.[2] Xsolla launched new partnerships with Alipay and Adikteev in 2022.[25] [26]

In 2023, Xsolla launched Headless Checkout, software that allows game developers to create custom storefronts in games, and integrated it with Pay Station.[27] It partnered with AppsFlyer to integrate cross-platform analytics into its products and with Mastercard to allow for the use of credit card reward points as a payment method.[28] [29]

In 2024, Xsolla launched Xsolla Wallet, a simplified way to monetize games, partnered with MTN Group and Bharti Airtel to add additional payment options in Africa and PayPay to increase options in Japan, and partnered with analytics company GameAnalytics to integrate its software with Xsolla's web shops.[30] [31] [32] It launched Cross Play, Cross Pay that year as well, which allows game developers to more easily move their games between platforms while accepting payments.[33]

With Curine Ventures, Xsolla opened the Xsolla Curine Academy in Kuala Lumpur in 2024. The academy offers classes for game developers including project management, game design, and graphic art.[34]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Xsolla opens one-stop shop for game developers to monetize and grow globally . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . June 6, 2018 . June 25, 2024.
  2. News: Xsolla’s Pay Station update adds web shops, streamlined payments and a startup accelerator . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . August 1, 2022 . June 18, 2024.
  3. News: Xsolla liquidates the parent company of the Russian division . Artemova . Ekaterina . Kommersant . June 8, 2022 . ru . June 18, 2024.
  4. . Farewell 2pay, Greetings to Xsolla . Tarzana, CA . PRWeb . October 5, 2010 . June 27, 2024 . January 30, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120130213207/https://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/10/prweb4599014.htm.
  5. News: Valve and Xsolla add Steam Wallet support to Russian cash kiosks . Winchester . Henry . PC Gamer . October 24, 2011 . June 26, 2024.
  6. News: In ZipZap Fashion, Gaming-Payments Market Growing . Bush . Joe . American Banker . January 30, 2012 . June 25, 2024.
  7. News: Game Payment Company CEO Sounds Like An Asshole . Gach . Ethan . Kotaku . August 6, 2021 . June 25, 2024.
  8. News: Leadership reshuffles at Xsolla put the company's founder back in the hot seat . Griffiths . Daniel . Pocket Gamer . February 14, 2024 . June 25, 2024.
  9. News: Xsolla appoints Konstantin Golubitsky as CEO . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . February 2, 2022 . June 26, 2024.
  10. News: Game Payment Company CEO Sounds Like An Asshole . Gach . Ethan . Kotaku . August 6, 2021 . June 25, 2024.
  11. News: Leadership reshuffles at Xsolla put the company's founder back in the hot seat . Griffiths . Daniel . Pocket Gamer . February 14, 2024 . June 25, 2024.
  12. News: Xsolla acquires data viz outfit Slemma . Biswas . Tousif . Pocket Gamer . April 22, 2021 . June 25, 2024.
  13. News: Xsolla announces acquisition of multiplayer platform AcceleratXR . Rees . Lewis . Pocket Gamer . September 27, 2023 . June 25, 2024.
  14. News: Ukraine calls for boycott of game payment firm Xsolla over Russian operations . Kerr . Chris . Moving forward, Hewish said Xsolla will continue to facilitate transactions in Russia if its clients choose to serve players in the region. He added that all of its partners are aware of Xsolla's operations in Russia. . Game Developer . November 3, 2023 . June 25, 2024.
  15. News: Ex-Xsolla exec files whistleblower lawsuit against payment firm over alleged financial crimes . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . November 29, 2023 . June 25, 2024.
  16. News: 1 great night, 22 winners: The Mobile Game Awards reveals 2023’s mobile standouts . Astle . Aaron . Pocket Gamer . April 20, 2023 . June 25, 2024.
  17. News: Xsolla evaluates gaming’s future in State of Play report . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . November 2, 2023 . June 25, 2024.
  18. News: Leadership reshuffles at Xsolla put the company's founder back in the hot seat . Griffiths . Daniel . Pocket Gamer . February 14, 2024 . June 25, 2024.
  19. News: Xsolla announces leadership changes for the next stage of gaming growth . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . February 14, 2024 . June 26, 2024.
  20. News: D'Anastasio . Cecilia . Nicoletti . Leonardo . Xsolla’s CEO Spends Like a Billionaire on Back of Company Cash . 5 September 2024 . Bloomberg.com . 27 August 2024 . en.
  21. News: Xsolla launches commerce to take mobile games beyond the app stores . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . January 26, 2021 . June 25, 2024.
  22. News: Video Game Junkie Quietly Builds $3 Billion Payments Powerhouse . Carpenter . Scott . Bloomberg News . April 18, 2022 . June 18, 2024.
  23. News: Xsolla’s Pay Station update adds web shops, streamlined payments and a startup accelerator . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . August 1, 2022 . June 18, 2024.
  24. News: Xsolla liquidates the parent company of the Russian division . Artemova . Ekaterina . Kommersant . June 8, 2022 . ru . June 18, 2024.
  25. News: Xsolla integrates Alipay support for game monetization across Asia . Morris . Iwan . Pocket Gamer . October 25, 2022 . June 18, 2024.
  26. News: Xsolla partners with Adikteev to accelerate game monetisation . Rees . Lewis . Pocket Gamer . August 11, 2022 . June 25, 2024.
  27. News: Xsolla unveils its new payment system Headless Checkout . Rees . Lewis . Pocket Gamer . September 27, 2023 . June 26, 2024.
  28. News: Xsolla partners with AppsFlyer to streamline cross-platform data-driven insights . Rees . Lewis . Pocket Gamer . August 10, 2023 . June 26, 2024.
  29. News: Xsolla Signs Deal with Mastercard . Torres . Destiny . San Fernando Valley business Journal . February 27, 2023 . June 25, 2024.
  30. News: GameAnalytics and Xsolla team up to simplify direct-to-consumer game sales . Muhammad . Isa . Pocket Gamer . March 20, 2024 . June 25, 2024.
  31. News: Xsolla debuts Xsolla Wallet and takes game payments to Africa . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . March 7, 2024 . June 25, 2024.
  32. News: Xsolla unveils crossplay and crosspay strategy for monetizing mobile games . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . March 6, 2024 . June 25, 2024.
  33. News: Xsolla unveils crossplay and crosspay strategy for monetizing mobile games . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . March 6, 2024 . June 25, 2024.
  34. News: Xsolla and Curine Ventures launch academy for game ecosystem in Kuala Lumpur . Takahashi . Dean . GamesBeat . April 18, 2024 . June 26, 2024.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Xsolla".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.