Notas de presa

Berlin - August 20, 2009

SponsorPay convinces Gameforge

Startup partners with market leader for online games, gives 85 million players free access to virtual goods.

The startup SponsorPay GmbH has been on the market for just a few weeks and already reaches millions of online gamers with its new payment system. The opportunity to receive virtual goods and items for free by accepting an offer from one of SponsorPay’s 1,000 advertising partners is well received by gamers. And the industry is amazed by the new possibility to generate a higher number of paying users: SponsorPay is now proud to present its new customer Gameforge, the biggest publisher of browser and client-based MMOGs worldwide.

Free access to online content that usually has to be paid for. This is made possible with the new payment method provided by Berlin-based SponsorPay GmbH. “Instead of paying with real euros a player can now complete one of our advertising offers to purchase, for instance, a virtual item for a computer game“, comments Jan Beckers, Managing Director and co-founder of SponsorPay. “In return, he’ll receive the virtual good for free.”

But not only gamers benefit from the new system. For publishers of online games, it works as an effective tool to raise revenues and increase their reach. Previously many players did not access premium content, being unwilling to pay for it. The possibility to receive it for free increases the game’s attractiveness and player activity. And the game publisher is paid a commission by the advertiser for each completed offer and thereby receives his real euros.

These arguments now have convinced one of the most important companies of the digital entertainment industry as well. „Our new customer Gameforge is one of the leading independent providers of browser and client-based online games“, Jan Beckers comments. „This cooperation means a boost in reach for our advertising partners in Europe who now have access to an additional 85 million registered users.“ And Klaas Kersting, Managing Director of Gameforge, is sure to have entered a successful cooperation with SponsorPay: „As we are pursuing a long-term growth strategy, which is based on high consumer satisfaction, we are putting a high value on the transparency of advertising offers. With SponsorPay, we are happy to have found a partner who shares our philosophy completely and already serves a large portion of our markets in Europe.

About SponsorPay:

SponsorPay GmbH (www.sponsorpay.com), which is seated in Berlin Mitte, was founded by Team Europe Ventures, Jan Beckers and Janis Zech and is currently employing 25 people. SponsorPay serves Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the U.K., France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Russia, the US, Canada and Turkey with native country managers and a localized product. Through their partners SponsorPay is able to reach more than 10 million users throughout Europe.

About Gameforge:

Gameforge (www.gameforge.com) is the world’s largest independent provider of browser and client-based MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games). Founded in December 2003 by Klaas Kersting and Alexander Rösner the company employs more than 300 people at its headquarters in Karlsruhe, Germany. Accel Partners is invested since August 2007. Gameforge offers 15 games in more than 50 languages. The number of registered players of those games is at around 85 million. Their most popular games are the browser-based MMOG OGame and Europe’s largest client-based MMOG, Metin2. In 2008 Gameforge has been awarded numerous awards, including the “Red Herring 100 Europe”, the “Entrepreneur des Jahres 2008” and the “Technology Fast 50 Rising Stars”. Gameforge has also been elected by the World Economic Forum as “Technology Pioneer 2009”. The International Business Awards has honored Gameforge as “Most Innovative Company of the Year in Europe“ in 2009. Also this year, Gameforge has won the “Best browser game“ category of the “German Computer Games Award” with its game “Ikariam”.

 

Berlin - August 13, 2009

SponsorPay grants online gamers free access to premium content

Shopping on the Internet does not always have to cost (your own) money. SponsorPay GmbH, a start-up situated in Berlin, provides an interesting alternative for online gamers who are interested in purchasing virtual goods. Instead of paying with their own money, gamers can complete one of the numerous offers from SponsorPay’s advertising partners and get virtual currency or items for free in return. At the Gamescom 2009 in Cologne, from August 19th to 23rd, the newly founded company will present itself at its own booth (hall 4.1, booth A30) and is looking forward to answering questions from interested visitors.

The market for online games is booming and publishers are increasingly earning their money through “virtual goods” that can be purchased within the game. A gamer, for example, who wants to complement his combat gear with a special sword in a fantasy game, would have to put a lot of effort into the game to do so. The alternative: He acquires it quickly and easily through the use of real money.

With SponsorPay’s innovative payment system the gamer can now have his virtual goods financed by advertising partners (“Sponsors”). In return, online gamers have to complete ad offers which cost them some time, but no real money. Such an offer can be anything, from taking part in a market survey or downloading a free software program, to ordering a trial subscription for a magazine.

For advertisers, the innovative payment method opens up a whole new method of generating customer data and new leads. Through the large international user base of SponsorPay’s partners, advertisers can increase their reach drastically. Shortly after launch, the Berlin-based company’s service is already available in localized versions for 14 different European countries. Jan Beckers, managing director and co-founder, comments on the rapid growth: „There is no other international industry that is comparable to the online game market. Our customers’ games are often played in more than 50 different countries. That is why we are focusing our technology and structure on growth right from the start. In the near future, we want to serve players in all of Europe and North America in their native languages.

The first customers of SponsorPay are online game publishers like Frogster Online Gaming GmbH („Runes of Magic“), Gamelabs GmbH („Gallendor“) and Playa Games GmbH („Shakes & Fidget“). Björn Koschin, managing director of Frogster Online Gaming GmbH, comments on his choice: „We decided to work with SponsorPay because they are serving many of our markets with local offers in native languages. Also, we were convinced by the focus on transparent advertising offers and sustainable revenues."

About SponsorPay

SponsorPay GmbH (www.sponsorpay.com), which is seated in Berlin Mitte, was founded by Team Europe Ventures, Jan Beckers and Janis Zech and is currently employing 25 people. SponsorPay serves Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the U.K., France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Russia, the US, Canada and Turkey with native country managers and a localized product. Through their partners SponsorPay is able to reach more than 10 million users throughout Europe.

Contact
SponsorPay GmbH
Jan Beckers
Linienstraße 139
10115 Berlin
Phone. +49/30/20 21 56 61 0
Fax. +49/30/20 21 56 615 5
jan.beckers@sponsorpay.com
www.sponsorpay.com

Press contact
Quinke Networks
Achim Quinke
Bei den Mühren 70
20457 Hamburg
Phone. +49/40/43 09 39 49
Fax. +49/40/43 09 39 97
mail@quinke.com
www.quinke.com