Alipay+ and Google Play Launch Initiatives to Enhance Game Developers' Engagement with Asia's Mobile Users

• Alipay+ and Google Play launch new series of initiatives with game developers, including MLBB and CODM, to enhance engagement with global gamers
• Regional campaigns and tournaments begin first in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia
• Transaction volumes and values on Google Play made through Alipay+ e-wallet partners increased more than 10 folds since 2020

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alipay+ and Google Play are launching a series of joint initiatives including region-wide tournaments and gaming festivals to help global game developers broaden their outreach to players worldwide and help them capture a larger percentage of this fast-growing industry.

Since August 2023, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has collaborated with Alipay+ and Google Play to host a tournament, open to all local fans in the Philippines and Malaysia with a total prize size of up to 250,000 pesos or 20,000 RM in prize. More than 16 teams have joined the tournament in each market and the grand finals between the top team from two countries took place on September 10^th, with BBCO team of the Philippines winning the grand finals.

Alipay+ and Google Play in August also rolled out their first-ever joint gaming festival in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Over 10 game developers have provided special offers to regional gamers using Alipay+ partner e-wallets via Alipay+ Rewards – an in-app digital hub for exclusive consumer incentives built into leading e-wallets of the region, including GCash (the Philippines), Touch ’n Go eWallet (Malaysia), TrueMoney (Thailand), DANA (Indonesia), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China) and Kakao Pay (South Korea).

Introduced by the International Business Group of Ant Group in 2020, Alipay+ is a suite of cross-border digital payment, marketing and merchant digitalization solutions connecting global brands with mobile-savvy consumers worldwide. The partnership ecosystem now extends to over 20 leading electronic payment methods, tens of millions of merchants and 1.4 billion consumer payment accounts. Since 2020, transaction volumes and values on Google Play made by Alipay+ e-wallet partners increased by more than 10 times.

Many game developers have also enhanced their offerings through Alipay+ and Google Play. Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) in August kicked off its summer festival on its official platform by offering users the chance to acquire limited in-game rewards. These rewards, including weapons and skins, can be acquired through Alipay+ Rewards via lucky draws and interaction tasks.

The increased focus on gamers by Alipay+ and Google Play is designed to help game developers win a larger share in the worlds' fastest-growing digital and entertainment markets.

Fortune Business Insights¹ estimates the global gaming market size will grow from a projected US$281.8 billion in 2023 to US$665.8 billion by 2030, representing compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.1%, of which Asia represents the lion's share.

A research report by Statista² released in mid-August expects the number of users of mobile games in Asia will continuously increase from 1.13 billion to 1.37 billion between 2023 and 2027, compared with 730 million back to 2018.

Set to open on September 23, 2023, the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China will be the first major competition to feature esports as an official media event, after it was first included as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

About Alipay+

Alipay+ offers unified global mobile payment and marketing solutions that connect merchants with multiple e-wallets and payment methods from different countries and regions by collaborating with global partners. Consumers can conveniently use their preferred local payment methods while transacting seamlessly in a different market and be able to enjoy marketing solutions offered by the merchants through Alipay+. Alipay+ is developed by Ant Group, the owner and operator of Alipay, one of the world’s leading digital open platforms.

¹ https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/gaming-market-105730

² https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1301038/number-of-mobile-gamers-asia