6 real-life examples of game studios directly linking to external gaming payment solutions

The Apple v Epic decision on April 30, 2025 has eliminated anti-steering rules for players in the US on iOS. And the reality is: Europe is next, with the European Commission slapping Apple with a €500 million fine for violating the Digital Markets Act - and insisting that Apple allow alternative gaming payment solutions. Globally, the market is changing and the time for experimenting with off-platform payments is now.

Shifting more spend to a D2C gaming payment gateway means developers can bypass platform fees and capture more iOS revenue - 25% more, in fact. However, the rules around linking to off-platform payments from in-app are so new that game studios often ask us: what are the best ways to implement off-platform payments and who else is doing it? 

Ahead, we’re sharing examples and best practices from the world’s top gaming studios on how they’re directly linking players to off-platform gaming payment solutions - either to their webshops or directly to web checkouts. 

1. Epic puts a dollar value on player rewards at checkout

Epic Games was the first studio to link directly from their game to a web checkout. In Fortnite, the studio gives players an option at checkout between paying on the web through the Epic Games store vs. in-app purchase. And they incentivize players to choose the web by offering them 20% cash back as Epic Rewards - and calculating this in a real-life dollar amount.

Not only does the 20% incentive feel valuable, letting players know what this amount actually translates to as a real number ($1.80 in this example) motivates them even more to complete the purchase on the web. And Epic highlights this value at checkout, a key moment when player purchase intent is high. 

By directly comparing the value of the web store vs. in-app at this critical touchpoint, Epic can increase conversions and motivate players to choose their D2C gaming payment gateway. It’s an excellent example of how clearly showing players the value of off-platform gaming payment solutions at moments of high intent can lead to higher CVR and webshop adoption. 

Here’s a pro tip for building even more value for players at moments of high intent that we’ve seen work well with our Stash Pay iOS payment solution: auto-apply loyalty rewards at checkout (instead of discounts). Players can see rewards like XP, free resources, and bonus currency that they can earn by completing the purchase on the web, which incentivizes them to spend here, instead of in-game.

2. Supercell doubles down on notifying players about alternative gaming payment solutions

After the ruling, Supercell began running an external linking strategy in their game Clash Royale for letting players on iOS know that the Supercell Store exists and the value of spending there. They highlighted the web store and directed players there through two different touchpoints:

1. A in-game popup with a special offer and CTA directly to the webshop
2. A button in the in-game store with a general value proposition and CTA to head to the web store

Supercell does a great job here of getting in front of players through persistent messaging and well-placed touchpoints at key places in-game. The messaging is highly visible to all players, and the messaging is clear and concise so players know exactly what they’re getting on the web, compared to in-game.

This is also a great example of the new freedoms around language you can use when talking about off-platform gaming payment solutions in-ap. Before the ruling, you couldn’t use payments-related terms like “store”, “discount”, or “deal”. Now, Apple allows all of these terms so you can make it clear to players what they’re getting when they choose to shop on the web.

For Supercell, this means calling out the exclusive offers and features players can only find on the web, like:

• Bonuses and wild cards
• More bang for their buck (“best value”)
• An exclusive stamp card

3. Pokemon Go uses the in-game shop to drive traffic to their D2C web store

Like Supercell, Pokemon Go uses a message in their in-game shop to let players know about their off-platform gaming payment solutions (in this case, their webshop). The message appears at the top of the in-game shop, before all other offers - it’s front and center to players when they’re already thinking about making a purchase.

They keep the message short and concise, focusing on highlighting the value of the Pokemon Go web store: “exclusive offers and bonus rewards”. This way, players immediately understand the webshop exists and its value.

It’s an interesting comparison with Epic’s approach: Epic shows players their choice of gaming payment gateway provider (Epic Games Store vs. Apple) at checkout when they’re choosing a specific offer and purchase intent is high for that product.

Pokemon Go directs players over to the webshop once they enter the in-game store, rather than after they choose a specific offer. Therefore, the messaging is more effective at letting players know the webshop exists and driving traffic - rather than converting players immediately.

With their external linking strategy, Pokemon Go is focusing more on general education about D2C channels and what the web store is - their players feel more comfortable making a purchase after an additional touchpoint (e.g. visiting the webshop and browsing other offers). However, there are some players who can understand the value they’re getting on the web immediately and convert at checkout. To tap into a wider player base and boost off-platform spend, we suggest using both types of link-outs: to your webshop and to a web checkout. 

4. Pixel Federation reconfigures their link-outs for less friction

Before the Apple v Epic ruling, Pixel Federation was using link-outs in Train Station 2 to send players to a dedicated rewards page. Here’s how it worked:

• Players clicked an icon on the game’s homescreen
• A tab opened in-game with the different available rewards 
• Players clicked the reward and were taken to the Pixel Federation Rewards web page
• From this page, they could navigate to the web shop and browse

That’s 4 steps until players could reach a page to purchase any products! Which is how link-out compliancy used to work. Now, iOS rules and off-platform gaming payment solutions make it a whole lot easier to send players to the web, with much less friction so they can make purchases more quickly and easily.

This is reflected in Pixel Federation’s new streamlined checkout flow for their game:

• There’s a CTA in the in-game shop that’s highlighted clearly with the phrase “Better Deals” for better visibility and a clear value proposition
• Players click this CTA to go directly to the webshop

So now they’re just one tap away from browsing offers and purchasing - compared to at least 4 steps from the old payments flow.

5. G5 incentivizes their D2C gaming payment gateway with free rewards

G5 is another example of a game studio linking out to their webshop from in-app. In Hidden City, they present players with a popup from the game’s homescreen that tells them to go to the store to claim their free gift. Like Supercell, it’s an example of how to use persistent messaging at key touchpoints in-game that explicitly call out the value of your D2C channel and make it simple for players to use it. 

In the case of Hidden City, the popup is a high-visibility touchpoint meant to drive players to the webshop with the promise of a free gift. Once players land on the web, they can easily understand the simple but effective incentives (bonus resources with each purchase) - and why it’s worth it for them to shop here, rather than in-game.

6. Tilting Point offers players bonuses to head to the web

Tilting Point gives players 5% more “contents” (items/resources in bundles) with their purchases on the Star Trek Timelines webshop - and they advertise this bonus with the CTA in their in-app shop that takes players straight to the web store.

The language used is clear: players get a bonus of “+5% contents” on some offers when they opt for the off-platform gaming payment gateway. Once players land on the shop, the first offer they see includes this 5% bonus. But the twist is, the incentive is actually a discount - players get the bundle for 5% cheaper than in-game.

Highlighting the offer as a bonus and telling players they get more bang for their buck on the web is a more effective motivation than phrasing it as a discount. That’s because the perceived value of the reward is greater when it’s a bonus, compared to a discount. Plus, it’s easy to understand at a glance in-game that players get 5% more when they choose to shop on the web.

Give players a way to pay on the web with zero friction

The new rules around direct linking greatly reduce the friction around off-platform payments. Players no longer need to rely on direct communication like email or travel through a ton of screens to purchase their favorite offers on the web. 

As we’ve seen from the examples above, some of the best ways to implement off-platform payment links in games so players choose to purchase on the web include:

• Show players the extra value they get on the web at checkout
• Use persistent links to your webshop at key touchpoints
• Educate players about your web store and its value with clear, obvious language
• Minimize friction to purchase
• Offer a free reward for going to the webshop
• Highlight your webshop incentives (e.g. bonus resources) from in-game

Now, you can use alternative gaming payment solutions that maintain the gameplay session - a product like Stash Pay is the only iOS payment platform that uses a web-based popup to keep players in-game. And research shows that keeping players in-game can improve CVR by up to 45%. This is big news for casual genres especially, like merge and match, which in the past struggled to adopt D2C because it meant sacrificing impulse purchases. For example, many players in these games make a purchase in a critical moment of gameplay, like continuing to play even when they run out of energy. But if they need to head out of the game to buy, their session ends and they lose the whole point of the purchase. With Stash Pay, players can complete their purchase in one tap then continue playing, without ever having to leave the game or end their session. 

If you want to learn more about direct linking to web checkout and how to maximize conversions with a zero-friction, highly motivating payment solution, talk to us.