Developer Evangelist

Xsolla expands its Publishing Suite with A new Community Hub, live-ops, and store tools for PC video game studios. PC video game studios now have more ways to engage players on a channel they actually own August 13, 2026 [This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Game Developer and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press] LOS ANGELES - AUGUST 13, 2026 - Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, Today added new tools to benefit PC video game studios, helping them focus on what happens after their players' first purchase. The goal for studios is to keep their players engaged and continuously coming back to their own branded channel. The Xsolla Publishing Suite now supports a Community Hub, a branded space for player engagement; a no-code Live Ops Event Template for running seasonal moments in the game store; new storefront capabilities that give studios more ways to showcase offers and drive repeat purchases; and an in-Launcher notification system that lets studios reach players directly with timely updates, events, and offers, bringing them back into the game. The new tools in this release are designed to strengthen the relationship with players after their first purchase in the game. The studio's direct channel built on the Publishing Suite runs alongside the platforms they already sell on, like Steam and the Epic Games Store, giving studios better margins, first-party player data, and control over their own monetization calendar. Storefronts expand reach, while a direct channel builds lasting relationships with players. The release adds the following to the Xsolla Publishing Suite: * Community Hub: A branded, studio-owned engagement space beyond traditional storefronts and Discord, with news, quests, loyalty, UGC, and referrals, and first-party player data that stays with the studio. * Live Ops Event Template (Shop Builder): A no-code template for running seasonal events and limited-time offers directly in the store, on the studio's own schedule and without engineering. * Cosmetic Items Showcase (Shop Builder): A dedicated merchandising experience for skins, outfits, and other cosmetics, giving studios a visually rich way to present premium content and drive purchases directly from their storefront. * Video as Illustrations (Shop Builder): Use gameplay clips and trailers as product-page media in place of static images. * Notification System in Launcher: A direct line to players through the Xsolla Launcher for patch notes, events, and store offers, without third-party channels. * New PC account onboarding: Self-service setup for live-service and premium PC video game studios through Publisher Account, with no custom engineering for standard integration. Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla "Storefronts put a game in front of players, yet they do not give a studio a direct relationship with them," said Chris Hewish, President at Xsolla. "This release is about what happens after the first sale. The new store, Community Hub, and Launcher tools give PC game studios their own channel to keep players engaged, on their own schedule, with the player data that comes from it." The new Publishing Suite features are available now. To learn more, visit: https://xsolla.com/release-notes/august-2026/xps About Xsolla Xsolla is a global commerce company that builds and provides all the things developers need to launch, grow, and monetize video games. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the company supports studios of every size, from indie to AAA, with solutions across direct-to-consumer commerce, intelligent payments, entertainment-based IP, and player engagement products. Xsolla helps developers fund, distribute, market, and monetize their games at scale. Trusted by more than 60% of the top 100 highest-grossing games, Xsolla operates as the merchant of record across 200+ geographies with access to 1,000+ local payment methods worldwide. Grounded in a deep belief in the future of gaming, Xsolla is resolute in bringing opportunities together and unlocking growth for creators everywhere.

Xsolla has added command-line interface (CLI) support to its AI Toolkit, enabling game developers to set up a working web shop in one session. The CLI automates account creation, API credential generation, and webhook configuration from the command line, whilst the AI Toolkit guides developers through API integration within their existing AI coding tools like Claude Code and Cursor. The free toolkit validates integration paths for login, catalogue, and payments, aiming to reduce debugging rounds. It is designed for studios of all sizes, from solo developers to large teams. Xsolla, which supports over 70% of the top 100 highest-grossing games, will demonstrate the complete workflow at gamescom 2026.

Jobs roundup: august 2026 | Frontier Developments appoints Dan Lazarides as CMO. UPDATE: Karen Ionescu appointed digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK, Swipe Right promotes Hannah Barrett to senior account executive Published on Aug 5, 2026, 3:57 AM PDT Updated on Aug 13, 2026, 12:17 AM PDT It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we compile them in semi-regular round-ups. If you have new appointments or transitions in your company that belong here, please send the names of appointees, new role and company, and prior role and company to [email protected]. Frontier Developments appoints Dan Lazarides as CMO. Dan Lazarides has been appointed chief marketing officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously served as senior vice president of marketing at Sega Europe, and replaced Jo Cooke following her appointment as Frontier's CEO in January. "We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings with him a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IP," says Cooke. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum, and his appointment to the role of CMO highlights our focus on our communities. Dan will be at the heart of our player first strategy, ensuring our publishing team champions player creativity and celebrates the way in which they play our games." Cooke concluded: "This strategy is paramount to our position as a genre-leading creative management simulation studio and ensures that we continue to create incredible games." Karen Ionescu | digital sales manager, Kalypso Media UK. Karen Ionescu has been appointed digital sales manager at Kalypso Media UK. Ionescu previously served as sales manager at Numskull Games, and has held positions at Nintendo and Rising Star Games. "We're delighted to welcome Karen to Kalypso Media UK," said managing director Andrew Johnson. "She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long-standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels, making her a fantastic addition to the team." Hannah Barrett promoted to senior account executive at Swipe Right. Hannah Barrett has been promoted to senior account executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right. Barrett previously served as account executive, having joined the company in December 2025. Anni Pyy | contract manager, supercell. Supercell has appointed Anni Pyy as contract manager. Pyy previously worked at Metacore as contract manager for four years. Nathan Solbrandt joins ZBD as SVP of business development. Nathan Solbrandt has been appointed SVP of business development at fintech platform ZBD. Solbrandt previously served as senior account executive at Motorica, and was vice president of business development at Xsolla for the Americas. Olivia Lee | internal events producer, Riot Games. Olivia Lee has been appointed internal events producer at Riot Games. Lee previously served as associate producer for internal events and programs. Ciarah Pritchard | account coordinator, Xsolla. Ciarah Pritchard has been appointed account coordinator at Xsolla. Pritchard previously served as account performance manager at Playback Rewards. Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as VP of communications. Tracey Thompson has been returned to Bethesda as VP of communications. Thompson joined Bethesda in 2009 as director of publications, becoming associate VP of communications. She left in 2019 to join Electronic Arts as head of product and studio integrated communications. "I'm looking forward to partnering with the talented people across Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the teams behind some of the most iconic franchises in entertainment, and helping bring their creativity and vision to players around the world," said Thompson. Dana Duffield | narrative designer, Yotta Games. Dana Duffield has joined Yotta Games as a narrative designer. Duffield previously served as senior narrative designer at Series Entertainment. Three new hires at Yogscast Games. UK publisher Yogscast Games has announced a trio of new hires including Charlotte Willis, Robin Mawhinney, and Charlotte Pang. Willis has been appointed PR and influencer manager, having previously worked at Diva Agency as creator and community director. Mawhinney and Pang have joined as production coordinator and publishing coordinator respectively. Mawhinney worked as a junior producer at Atelier 11, while Pang served as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard. She also taught game design, animation, and coding at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone. Jars AI co-founders join Roblox to support AI tool launch in New Zealand. Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have joined Roblox's Foundation AI team to support the platform's mobile-first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. Holm and Kruger co-founded AI interactive platform Jars AI in 2023 after raising $3.5 million in funding from Google and other firms. "At Jars AI we saw hundreds of thousands of creators use AI to shape weird new worlds and stories, and we're excited to keep pushing the boundaries of AI entertainment in our new roles," said Holm. Sathvik Sudireddy | marketing manager, live services, Rockstar. Sathvik Sudireddy has joined Rockstar Games as marketing manager, live services. Sudireddy previously served as product manager on Call of Duty at Activision following an internship in business development at the developer. Joe Chard | lead product manager, Netflix. Joe Chard has been appointed lead product manager at Netflix Games. Chard previously served as vice president, studio general manager, and head of product at Jam City for six years. They also held senior positions in games at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.