Jest raises $7M to put games inside messaging threads
Context and chronology
A fresh entrant, Jest, secured a $7M seed to embed games directly into messaging threads rather than through an app storefront. The company is betting that upgraded carrier messaging standards and broader platform support create a low-friction surface for casual play and payments. Market indicators show consumers are downloading fewer standalone titles while time spent in chat remains high, creating a distribution opportunity. This sequence of signals explains why investors and studios are testing messaging as primary placement for bite-sized games.
Product, economics, and early performance
Jest delivers games in-browser from within conversations, removing an install step and keeping sessions inside a single thread. The platform offers studios a 90/10 revenue split and a cooperative monetization model that divides proceeds 70/20/10 when one studio brings a user and another captures value. Beta traction is real: the product recorded more than 1,000,000 plays and over 300,000 exchanged messages in a few months, with partners reporting retention that is roughly 3–4x higher and acquisition costs down by an estimated 30–60%. Those unit-economics changes reframe payback periods and LTV calculations for mid-tier studios.
Distribution signals and scaling plan
Jest is live in the US and targets expansion into fourteen additional markets within months, backed by a dedicated Games Fund. The fund is structured into tiers with headline allocations of $1M, $200K, and $40K to seed franchises, support mid-stage projects, and finance experiments. Interest from studios behind known casual franchises validates creative fit and accelerates catalog growth. At-scale RCS adoption and embedded payments will determine how fast messaging becomes a primary storefront for casual titles.
Strategic implications for founders and investors
If messaging-native games continue to scale, platform economics and discovery will shift away from traditional app stores and toward in-thread ecosystems. Mr. Vitanov positions Jest to capture attention on the most persistent mobile surface while reallocating value to creators through a developer-first split. For venture investors this creates a folder of opportunities: marketplace infrastructure, payments integrations, studio financing, and tooling for rapid web-play creation. Incumbent stores and discovery channels stand to lose leverage as studios test lower-cost, higher-retention routes to monetization.
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