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May 28, 2025 – Oncade, a new community-driven platform poised to reshape how PC and mobile games are distributed and monetized, today announced the closure of a $4 million seed funding round. The round was led by a16z CSX, with significant participation from visionary founders and a network of industry leaders.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Oncade is on a mission to fix the broken economics of game distribution by enabling developers to sell directly to players through off-platform, community-powered game stores. This direct-to-consumer (D2C) model allows studios to bypass the "crushing 30% platform fees" traditionally levied by major app stores, reclaim control over their margins, and transform their passionate communities into powerful sales and engagement engines.
“In gaming, the value distribution is broken," said Stavros Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of Oncade. “The people driving value – studios, players, creators, and communities – aren’t earning their proper share of the financial rewards. We’re here to change that.” Lee, an industry veteran with over 20 years in tech and video games, brings experience from OUYA, Razer, Call of Duty, Facebook Avatars, and Coinbase.
The current gaming landscape presents significant challenges for developers, including soaring acquisition costs, ineffective discovery methods like paid ads and algorithmic feeds, and the relentless demand for fresh content that often drains resources without substantially growing player bases. Oncade aims to provide a more efficient, aligned, and scalable path to success.
Often described as "Shopify for games," Oncade provides a suite of tools that allows game studios and affiliates (players, creators, community leaders) to sell games and in-game items directly to consumers. The platform, backed by a stablecoin protocol for advanced payments, offers:
- Direct-to-Consumer Game Stores: Branded storefronts enabling developers to sell directly, keeping more revenue and fostering direct player relationships.
- Community-Powered Distribution & Presales: Tools for developers to turn their communities into sales channels through affiliate programs, driving pre-sales, wishlisting, and organic growth. Affiliates earn a percentage for every sale they drive.
- Advanced Payments & Instant Global Payouts: Leveraging stablecoins and modern payment rails for real-time revenue delivery to developers and instant payouts to community affiliates, eliminating traditional delays and high fees.
- In-Game Item Monetization & Creator Economies: Enabling players and creators to design, sell, and earn from in-game items and cosmetics, fostering deeper engagement and new revenue streams.
- Comprehensive LiveOps Tools: An integrated suite for managing real-time updates, events, subscriptions, battle passes, and soft currencies to keep players engaged post-launch.
- Automated Tax & Compliance: Global tax calculation, VAT & GST compliance, and reporting, allowing developers to focus on game creation.
Oncade operates on a "no upfront cost" model for developers, aligning its success with that of its users. The platform takes a 2.5% fee plus the cost of the payment channel, allowing studios to offer competitive affiliate rates (e.g., 20%) while still retaining significantly more revenue than through traditional platforms.
The founding team, including Co-Founder and COO Greg Reisdorf, who led Call of Duty multiplayer for 13 years, brings over 35 years of combined experience from triple-A studios and live service games. "We’re not just building a platform - we’re building a movement," said Reisdorf. “The next era of gaming belongs to empowered communities and collaborative studios.”
Oncade's emergence is timely, capitalizing on two seismic shifts: the global payments revolution driven by stablecoins and instant payment infrastructure, and the proven power of player-driven economies seen in titles like CS:GO, Roblox, and Fortnite. Oncade aims to make these powerful models accessible to studios of all sizes.
The $4 million in seed funding will be used to expand operations, further develop the platform's robust features, and accelerate its mission to empower game developers and their communities worldwide.
About Oncade:
Oncade is a San Francisco-based, Web3-native game distribution platform founded in 2025 by industry veterans Stavros Lee and Greg Reisdorf. It empowers game developers to sell directly to players, bypassing traditional 30% platform fees, through community-driven, off-platform game stores. Oncade offers tools for presales, affiliate distribution, in-game item monetization, LiveOps, and automated global tax compliance, all backed by a stablecoin protocol for advanced payments and instant global payouts. The platform aims to create a more equitable and profitable ecosystem for game studios, players, and creators.
Compiled by CMO Intern team
