Latest news with #KunGao
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Mythik taps entertainment industry pioneers for global advisory board
Mythik , a tech-first global entertainment company with the ambitious vision to become the 'Disney from the East', today announced the formation of its Global Advisory Board . According to the press release, this board comprises six highly influential industry leaders whose collective expertise has been instrumental in shaping some of the most iconic media, entertainment, and technology companies worldwide. The Global Advisory Board includes Alok Sama , former president of SoftBank Group , a veteran investor renowned for leading the historic $34 billion acquisition of ARM Holdings and the $59 billion merger of Spring and T-Mobile. Also joining is Kun Gao , co-founder and former CEO of Crunchyroll, a serial entrepreneur who pioneered and led the highly successful manga and anime-focused OTT platform, which was later sold to Sony Entertainment for $1.2 billion. The board also features Nick Van Dyk , former SVP of Corporate Strategy at The Walt Disney Company, a veteran media executive who played a lead role in Disney's global strategic overhaul and landmark acquisitions of Marvel Entertainment ($4 billion), Pixar ($7 billion), and Lucasfilm (Star Wars) ($4 billion). Bill Jemas , former COO of Marvel Entertainment, who played a pivotal role in the historic Marvel Entertainment turnaround that culminated in its $4 billion sale to Disney, is also on the board. Rounding out the board are John Lynch , former global head of production & operations at Amazon Studios, who built from inception and led global production and operations for Amazon Studios, overseeing a film & television budget exceeding $20 billion, and Gui Karyo , former chief information officer at Marvel Entertainment and Dapper Labs, a key figure in the historic Marvel turnaround and the creation of Dapper Labs, one of the largest Web3 companies globally. Jason Kothari, founder of Mythik, commented, 'Mythik's mission is to elevate Eastern mythology and cultural narratives to the forefront of global entertainment. The formation of our Global Advisory Board, comprised of pioneering leaders who have helped create some of the world's most successful media and entertainment companies, will provide Mythik's management team the strategic guidance to build in India for the world for the first-time in entertainment.'
Associated Press
04-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Forge Launches GameLink and PayLink, a Link-in-Bio with Payments Built for Games
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 4, 2025-- Forge, the leading platform for community-driven game marketing and engagement, announced Forge GameLink and PayLink today, a groundbreaking Link-in-Bio product purpose built for game studios and publishers. Building on Forge's mission to empower game developers and foster direct connection with players, GameLink provides a centralized hub for any game to connect purchase, content, community, and launch a direct-to-consumer experience within minutes. Forge PayLink enables any game developer to link out from their existing in-app purchase flow and seamlessly integrate payment processing, without disrupting the checkout process. Additionally, games can feature their SKUs directly on their GameLink. Game developers can use PayLink to increase their revenue by up to 35% with just a few minutes of integration. 'In today's fragmented digital landscape, it's critical for game developers to have a unified direct to consumer presence,' said Kun Gao, Co-Founder & CEO of Forge. 'Forge GameLink provides that essential hub, connecting players to all vital aspects of a game's ecosystem in one place that's simple to manage and PayLink enables easy mobile payment processing that boosts any game's existing revenue within minutes.' Unlike traditional game websites which serve as static landing pages, Forge GameLink offers developers and publishers the ability to create dynamic, customizable and easily managed Link-in-Bio style landing and community hub for their game. Forge GameLink is integrated into the recently announced Forge Direct suite, enabling a seamless upgrade path to a full featured customizable community portal complete with quests, loyalty rewards, and direct-to-player commerce. Additionally, games can directly list SKUs on their Forge GameLink for purchase. Mobile games can link to their SKUs via PayLink to seamlessly provide support for existing MOR and alternative payment options within their existing in-app checkout experience. By providing direct payment processing options, games can boost revenue and provide increased retention through loyalty, rewards, and other incentives with the Forge platform. Forge GameLink is taking community engagement to the next level by offering a powerful tool that streamlines how players discover and interact with their favorite games. This includes the ability to link to all popular social and community platforms, directly feature game purchase options such as Steam, showcase game trailers from YouTube, create FAQs, countdowns, and more. Forge GameLink and PayLink are free. Games have the choice to upgrade to the Pro tier, which unlocks the ability to host GameLink on their own domain or subdomain, access to additional analytics, and advanced customization options. Getting started is fast and easy, and can be set up by game teams within minutes at About Forge Since launching in late 2023, Forge has partnered with hundreds of games, helping studios boost discovery, retention, and engagement through more than 25 million completed quests. Now, with Forge GameLink, Forge provides a centralized hub for any game to connect purchase, content, community, and launch a direct-to-consumer experience within minutes. Founded by gaming pioneer Dennis 'Thresh' Fong, Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao, and Cyence founder George Ng, Forge originated as a project within GGWP, an AI-powered game moderation platform that the team launched in 2020, Forge's mission is to make user acquisition and community engagement accessible and effective for all developers, enabling them to focus on creating amazing games. The platform launched in late 2023 with an $11 million seed funding round, co-led by Makers Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Animoca Brands. Forge's existing investors include industry-leading strategics such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Riot Games, and Sony Innovation Fund. Forge's angel investors include gaming industry leaders Riot Games founder Marc Merrill, Twitch founders Emmett Shear and Kevin Lin, TSM founder Dan Dinh, Kabam founders Kevin Chou and Holly Liu, YouTube founder Steve Chen, Krafton CEO CH Kim, former Discord CMO Eros Resmini (The Mini Fund), and ESL founder Ralf Reichart. View source version on CONTACT: For press inquiries: [email protected] KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY ELECTRONIC GAMES PAYMENTS ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE SOURCE: Forge Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/04/2025 09:22 AM/DISC: 06/04/2025 09:21 AM
Business Wire
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Forge Launches GameLink and PayLink, a Link-in-Bio with Payments Built for Games
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Forge, the leading platform for community-driven game marketing and engagement, announced Forge GameLink and PayLink today, a groundbreaking Link-in-Bio product purpose built for game studios and publishers. Building on Forge's mission to empower game developers and foster direct connection with players, GameLink provides a centralized hub for any game to connect purchase, content, community, and launch a direct-to-consumer experience within minutes. Forge PayLink enables any game developer to link out from their existing in-app purchase flow and seamlessly integrate payment processing, without disrupting the checkout process. Additionally, games can feature their SKUs directly on their GameLink. Game developers can use PayLink to increase their revenue by up to 35% with just a few minutes of integration. 'In today's fragmented digital landscape, it's critical for game developers to have a unified direct to consumer presence,' said Kun Gao, Co-Founder & CEO of Forge. 'Forge GameLink provides that essential hub, connecting players to all vital aspects of a game's ecosystem in one place that's simple to manage and PayLink enables easy mobile payment processing that boosts any game's existing revenue within minutes.' Unlike traditional game websites which serve as static landing pages, Forge GameLink offers developers and publishers the ability to create dynamic, customizable and easily managed Link-in-Bio style landing and community hub for their game. Forge GameLink is integrated into the recently announced Forge Direct suite, enabling a seamless upgrade path to a full featured customizable community portal complete with quests, loyalty rewards, and direct-to-player commerce. Additionally, games can directly list SKUs on their Forge GameLink for purchase. Mobile games can link to their SKUs via PayLink to seamlessly provide support for existing MOR and alternative payment options within their existing in-app checkout experience. By providing direct payment processing options, games can boost revenue and provide increased retention through loyalty, rewards, and other incentives with the Forge platform. Forge GameLink is taking community engagement to the next level by offering a powerful tool that streamlines how players discover and interact with their favorite games. This includes the ability to link to all popular social and community platforms, directly feature game purchase options such as Steam, showcase game trailers from YouTube, create FAQs, countdowns, and more. Forge GameLink and PayLink are free. Games have the choice to upgrade to the Pro tier, which unlocks the ability to host GameLink on their own domain or subdomain, access to additional analytics, and advanced customization options. Getting started is fast and easy, and can be set up by game teams within minutes at About Forge Since launching in late 2023, Forge has partnered with hundreds of games, helping studios boost discovery, retention, and engagement through more than 25 million completed quests. Now, with Forge GameLink, Forge provides a centralized hub for any game to connect purchase, content, community, and launch a direct-to-consumer experience within minutes. Founded by gaming pioneer Dennis 'Thresh' Fong, Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao, and Cyence founder George Ng, Forge originated as a project within GGWP, an AI-powered game moderation platform that the team launched in 2020, Forge's mission is to make user acquisition and community engagement accessible and effective for all developers, enabling them to focus on creating amazing games. The platform launched in late 2023 with an $11 million seed funding round, co-led by Makers Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Animoca Brands. Forge's existing investors include industry-leading strategics such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Riot Games, and Sony Innovation Fund. Forge's angel investors include gaming industry leaders Riot Games founder Marc Merrill, Twitch founders Emmett Shear and Kevin Lin, TSM founder Dan Dinh, Kabam founders Kevin Chou and Holly Liu, YouTube founder Steve Chen, Krafton CEO CH Kim, former Discord CMO Eros Resmini (The Mini Fund), and ESL founder Ralf Reichart.
