Fresh Off a $13 Million Raise, Neon Wants to Hand Game Publishers the eCommerce Playbook

Funding Raised

$13 Million

Amount raised by Neon in a funding round led by Krafton.

Year-over-Year Growth

200%

Percentage growth Neon experienced over the previous year.

Revenue Retention

30% to 70%

Percentage of gross revenue game publishers are retaining by moving to direct payment channels.

§ 01 Executive Snapshot

What: Neon raised $13 million to enhance eCommerce infrastructure for game publishers.
Who: Neon, Krafton (lead investor), Chris Faught (CEO).
Why it matters: This funding aims to empower game publishers to build direct-to-consumer channels, reducing reliance on app stores and enhancing customer relationships.

Neon experienced 200% growth over the prior year, indicating strong demand for its services.
The company raised $13 million in a funding round led by Krafton.
Neon aims to provide infrastructure that allows publishers to retain customer relationships and manage payments, fraud, and loyalty directly.

The gaming industry is transitioning from app-store dependency to direct commerce, similar to eCommerce evolution seen in other sectors.
Game publishers face the challenge of building trust and customer relationships outside traditional app-store environments, where they previously lacked customer data.

Immediate consequence includes potential disruption of traditional merchant-of-record models, granting publishers more control over customer interactions.
Long-term implications suggest that publishers could enhance customer loyalty and lifetime value by leveraging direct channels effectively.

There is a risk that publishers may inadvertently create new dependencies by using traditional merchant-of-record providers, similar to app store models.
The challenge of building customer trust in new payment systems, as players are accustomed to the security of established platforms like Apple and Google.

Future developments to watch include how quickly publishers can implement direct-to-consumer strategies and the metrics of customer relationship management.
Monitoring Neon’s progress in expanding its service offerings and partnerships will signal the effectiveness of its approach to gaming commerce.

§ 07

What did Neon achieve with its recent funding?

Neon raised $13 million to enhance eCommerce infrastructure for game publishers.

Who led the funding round for Neon?

The funding round was led by Krafton.

Why is Neon's funding important for game publishers?

It aims to empower game publishers to build direct-to-consumer channels, reducing reliance on app stores and enhancing customer relationships.