MAY 10, 2012 ● San Francisco-based Tapjoy, Inc., known for providing monetization and distribution services, announced a $5 million to encourage and support developers throughout Asia in the innovation and growth of Free-to-Play mobile apps for the Android and iOS platforms. Asian developers who take part in the program get access to initial working capital, new user acquisition assistance through Tapjoy’s ad network, plus Tapjoy’s expertise in monetizing the free-to-play model.

Impact: Tapjoy is a well-funded company that has specialized in offer walls for the iOS and Android market.   Offer walls, or incentivized installs are somewhat controversial and are basically a distribution scheme where users are encouraged to download new applications by getting virtual currency in existing apps. Last year Apple began a crackdown on offer walls because they felt they artificially inflated the top download charts.  Shortly after the crackdown Tapjoy announced a similar $5 million fund for developers to port their games from iOS to Android.  Of course, there is a great deal in it for Tapjoy.  Tapjoy gains the rights to be distributors of what could be the hot new mobile games.  We imagine many Asian developers looking to enter new markets will jump at Tapjoy’s offer.