Web3 game distribution platform Oncade has secured $4 million in funding to change how game studios connect with players and earn revenue. The funding round was led by a16z CSX, with participation from several industry veterans and startup founders.

Changing How Games Are Sold

According to the team, Oncade wants to help game studios move away from traditional platforms like Steam and mobile app stores, which often charge up to 30% in fees. Instead, the platform offers tools that let studios sell directly to players. This allows developers to keep more of their income and transform their communities into powerful sales channels. 

"In gaming, the value distribution is broken," said Oncade founder Stavros Lee. "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."

By cutting out platform fees and giving more control to studios, Oncade provides a better option for both developers and their communities. Its features support custom storefronts, presales, wishlist growth, and instant payments.

What Oncade Brings to Builders and Players

Oncade works as a complete system that makes game selling more connected and community-led. Developers can use it to launch their own branded stores, get paid quickly through stablecoins, and grow their audience by activating community sales.

Key features include real-time payments, affiliate tools, built-in LiveOps for engagement, and worldwide reward systems. All of this comes with much lower fees compared to standard app stores.

Players also benefit from here. With Oncade, gamers can earn real income by promoting the games they enjoy. Anyone can join, create their own store, and share affiliate links. When someone buys through that link, the player earns a share of the sale. 

"Oncade exists to fundamentally reshape the relationship between players and studios," the company posted online. "Game distribution is already player-led word-of-mouth. Oncade is putting money where your mouth is."

Making Player Economies More Accessible

According to the team, the timing is right for Oncade's approach. Stablecoins and instant payment networks now make it easier to reward players globally. At the same time, successful games like Fortnite and CS:GO have proven that letting players create and earn helps grow strong communities.

Before Oncade, only big studios could build systems that paid and engaged players. Oncade brings this power to all studios, no matter their size. Its low 2.5% fee means studios can offer high affiliate rates (up to 20%) and still keep more revenue than through major platforms.

This lets developers grow without constantly spending on ads or creating new content. Instead, they can activate their community to help with promotion and sales.

Built by Industry Veterans

Oncade's team brings deep experience from top firms in gaming and tech. Stavros Lee has worked at EA, Activision, Meta, Razer, and Ouya. Greg Reisdorf, another cofounder, spent over a decade building multiplayer systems for Call of Duty, which brought in over $10 billion in lifetime revenue.

The company is based in San Francisco and has a small, focused team of six employees. Their combined experience gives Oncade a strong foundation to build a trusted and scalable platform.

"We're not just building a platform—we're building a movement," the founders said. "The next era of gaming belongs to empowered communities and collaborative studios."

Oncade's Road Ahead

With its fresh funding, Oncade is working to bring its tools to more builders and users. The long-term goal is to become the go-to platform for direct sales, something like Shopify, but for games.

New features in the works include a full community marketplace, better tools for affiliate sales, and player-created content systems. These tools make it easier for studios to work closely with their fans, earn together, and grow faster.

The platform is also removing old barriers to earning and paying players. There are no minimum payout thresholds, so players get paid instantly when they help make a sale.