Xsolla

Xsolla is a Russian payment services company, providing game developers and publishers with payment, billing, distribution, and marketing tools.

Xsolla
IndustryFinancial service
Founded2005 (2005)[1]
FounderAleksandr Agapitov
Headquarters
Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California
,
United States of America
Area served
Worldwide
Servicespayment systems for game publishers
Websitewww.xsolla.com

Xsolla is headquartered in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. It has offices in Moscow and Perm in Russia, Kyiv in Ukraine and Seoul in South Korea. Companies that use the service include Valve,[2] Twitch,[3] Epic Games, Aeria Games,[4] BigPoint Games, Gameforge, Ankama Games, Gaijin Entertainment, Goodgame Studios, Snail Games, Chromatic Games, Digital Extremes, Ubisoft, Roblox Corporation and Rockstar Games Launcher. Commonly used also for Latin America.

History

Beginnings

Founded in 2005 in Perm, Russia[1] by Alexander Agapitov, Xsolla (then 2Pay) provides payment services via local payment methods (cash kiosks, prepaid cards, money orders and e-wallets). The company was initially targeted at Russian game developers and publishers. Having added PayPal and SMS payment options, 2Pay entered the CIS market and started its global expansion.[1]

Rebranding

In 2010, 2Pay headquarters moved to Sherman Oaks, CA. The company was renamed Xsolla, with its corporate image being designed by Art. Lebedev Studio.[5]

Prospects

According to Alexander Agapitov, over 50% of Xsolla's revenue is to come from European and American game developers and publishers in 2014.[6] Xsolla is pursuing its strategic goal to gain a significant market share in European, American and Asian regions by providing new services. Xsolla assisted many famous game companies such as Perfect World In November 2013 to self-publish its latest game, Neverwinter, on the Russian market.[7] Xsolla worked the publishing and financial aspects of a few new coming games. Ultimately they forced said games out of business, and crippled the development of certain niche games due to restricting funding.

Coverage

Xsolla claims to have global coverage, with presence throughout Russia and the CIS countries and a strong presence in other regions. For example, in 2011, Xsolla focused in the Ukrainian market as it represents one of the fastest growing markets for the gaming industry in the Eastern European region.[8]

The company expanded its business portfolio by adding numerous payment systems (such as Skrill,[9] Boku, paysafecard, Amazon, Qiwi, Stipe, Braintree, Alipay, WeChat, MyCard, etc.) and game developers/publishers (Barbily,[10] S2 Games,[11] Valve,[12] and many more) worldwide.

Controversy

In 2021, Xsolla fired 150 employees based on their performance metric which was measured using big data and AI analytics.[13] In a press conference, the CEO explained that this decision was taken due to a slowing growth of the company.[14]

References
  1. "Энциклопедия: 2PAY | MoneyNews". Moneynews.ru. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  2. "News - Xsolla And Valve Announce Cash Payments to Steam in Russia". Store.steampowered.com. 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  3. "Global Methods of Payment & VAT Information". twitch. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  4. "Press Releases - Aeria Games Chooses Xsolla To Monetize Their Games In Russia And Eastern Europe". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  5. "Фирменный стиль "Иксоллы"" [Xsolla's corporate identity]. Artlebedev.ru. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  6. Дарья Черкудинова, 27 июня58960 (2010-07-16). "Дорогие игрушки: Как агрегатор платежей Xsolla пробивается в высшую лигу Кремниевой долины" [Expensive Toys: How Xsolla Payments Aggregator Breaks into Silicon Valley Major Leagues]. Hopesandfears.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-08. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  7. "Как запустить MMORPG в России своими силами: колонка Гэбриеля Хэкера" [How to start an MMORPG in Russia on your own: a column by Gabriel Hacker]. kanobu.ru.
  8. "Xsolla Focuses On Ukrainian Online Gaming Payments Market". Xsolla. 2011-07-13. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  9. "Xsolla начала сотрудничать со Skrill" [Xsolla partners with Skrill]. Moneynews.ru. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  10. "Star Supremacy: Star Supremacy choisi Xsolla" [Star Supremacy: Star Supremacy chooses Xsolla] (in French). Mondes Persistants. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  11. Mr WordPress (2011-10-30). "S2 Games chooses to Xsolla payment solution in the world of game". Geek.digitalspad.com. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  12. "Xsolla и Valve анонсировали платежную систему для Steam в России" [Xsolla and Valve announced a payment system for Steam in Russia]. Gamer.ru. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  13. "Xsolla fires 150 employees using big data and AI analysis, CEO's letter causes controversy". 4 August 2021.
  14. "Xsolla founder on mass layoffs and AI-based employee appraisal system: "Stories of fear sell better than those of hope"". 6 August 2021.
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