PlaySpan provides a virtual-goods monetization and microtransaction platform for video games and virtual worlds. It powers marketplaces across 1,000 video games and virtual world publishers and manages micropayments, ecommerce and micro-transactions across 180 countries. The platform lets users sell, exchange and purchase online game items, virtual goods, and game currencies and offers a white-label marketplace for publishers. PlaySpan also provides in-depth management and reporting tools and supports 85 payment methods including credit cards, PayPal and mobile. Current customers include Sanrio, Adobe, Viacom/Nickelodeon, Disney and Warner Brothers. The company has been tapped by Ubisoft to power virtual goods for several titles, including MMO and Might & Magic: Heroes Kingdoms. PlaySpan just raised $18 million in new funding and faces competition from Live Gamer. PlaySpan operates a marketplace and micro-transaction payment system for virtual goods across more than 200 video games. The company was founded two years ago by Arjun Mehta (then a fifth grader) and his father Karl Mehta, who is CEO. PlaySpan also sells the Ultimate Game Card through roughly 20,000 retailers, including 7-Eleven, Wal‑Mart, Blockbuster, and Rite‑Aid. The stored-value card enables purchases of virtual goods in hundreds more titles, including EverQuest, Eve Online, and all EA Games. So far this year more than $50 million worth of transactions have flowed through PlaySpan, and the company has generated revenues in the millions of dollars. PlaySpan runs an online marketplace that facilitates the sale of virtual goods tied to video games. The company intends to partner directly with game makers to sell in-game items rather than operate a peer-to-peer clearinghouse. The founder is Arjun Mehta, a sixth-grader based in Silicon Valley, who initially ran the site from his father’s server. The TechCrunch article noted early operations were small and even joked about modest monthly sales. PlaySpan recently closed a $6.5 million Series A. The article does not list specific investors or detail formal plans for how the funding will be used.

Total raised

$41M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Oct 2010