Pragma

Pragma is a fully extensible backend game engine that enables multiplayer games.

Matchmaking, cross-platform accounts, social, meta game features, etc.

[Eden Chen @edenchen]

Games marketing is broken. After raising over $50M to support and work with hundreds of studios over the last 6 years, I find that the biggest problem is studios’ lack of direct connection with their players.

Over the last six years, I’ve watched talented teams struggle because they never had a clear way to reach, learn from, and grow with players over time. Without that connection, everything becomes harder - validation, iteration, community growth, and retention all turn into guesswork.

For most of the games industry’s history, platforms have controlled identity, communication, and distribution, which are invaluable to a game’s success.

Apple limited how studios could collect and use player contact information outside the App Store, and Steam still doesn’t give studios access to the contact details of players who wishlist or sign up for playtests.

Studios are left without a direct relationship with the audience they’re trying to serve.

As a result, studios rely on fragmented tools and spreadsheets to manage players across different stages of development and live operations, with no continuity from first contact through long-term engagement.

Today, that changes with the launch of FirstLook 1.0.

FirstLook is the first Player Relationship Platform built specifically for games. It gives studios everything they need to connect with players across the full lifecycle, including playtests and feedback, community and communications, analytics, rewards, and creator programs, all in one place.

We’ve been building under the radar, but FirstLook already powers hundreds of studios, from indies to publishers like Krafton, @ArenaNet, and @Skybound, connecting millions of players with the developers who make the games they love.

As part of the launch, we’re introducing a brand new limited time free plan, with access to all our features for up to 500 players. You can set this up now in under 10 minutes. If you want to learn more, book a demo and we guarantee that you will save you time and money and help you grow. Links in comments!

[player.gg @playerdotgg]

we rebuilt our Sentiment feature 👀

now you can:
→ see what players actually say 🔊
→ track how patches land over time 🎯
→ jump between discord & steam instantly ↔️

enable in FirstLook Labs + read more: https://t.co/9G57ugQuVB

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

What a year! 🚀

In 2025, Pragma & @firstlookgg became one - shipped fast (85+ features!), closed a $12.75M round with partners inc. @SquareEnix, grew our global dev community + more.

Huge thanks to the studios, players, creators, and partners building with us. 2026, let’s go 💙

👉 https://t.co/hlgLluqPeD

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

The Game Awards are a snapshot of where the industry is headed, and this year, a lot of that future was built by teams we’re proud to work with at Pragma and @firstlookgg.

Congrats to Bad Robot, @remedygames, @Skybound, @EA, @IOInteractive , @Dotemu & @WildlightEnt 👏

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

👉 https://t.co/ySCV7jZr55

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

Sign-ups show interest.
Retention shows impact.

If players aren’t coming back after the first session, your game’s trying to whisper something… 👀 (and no, it’s not 'add more loot boxes').

Part 2 of Signals of Success is here 🚀

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

Wishlists are fading.
Playtest sign-ups are the new metric that actually shows intent.
Here’s why that shift matters - and how @Skybound is already using it 👇

https://t.co/rq4Z4gq0eE

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

Read more: https://t.co/Vec93h9Jkl

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

We’re rolling out two new Pragma modules to help studios ship faster:

✅ Accounts & Social
✅ Accounts, Social & Commerce

Cross-platform accounts, friends, parties, virtual currency, refunds, admin tools - all production-ready and cert-ready.

Build the game. We’ll handle the backend.

[Room 8 Group @room8group]

Room 8 Group is partnering with @pragmaplatform to strengthen online game development capabilities for our partners and enable faster, more scalable online functionality. 🤝

By integrating the Pragma Platform, we expand our tech stack with industry-leading backend services for connected games—covering everything from launch to live ops.

More about this partnership in our latest article ➡️ https://t.co/cSdh6OAfSn

#Room8Group #Pragma #Codevelopment

[Games Growth Guild @GamesGrowthGG]

the people behind game growth deserve a space built for them 🎮

meet the Games Growth Guild (GGG) - a community for marketers & publishers across games, built on one mission: pushing the industry forward by lifting each other up 💪

learn more + apply → https://t.co/rPYcElojHh

[player.gg @playerdotgg]

Indie devs… this one’s for you!

We’re bringing back FirstLook Office Hours, and this time with @HaZ_Dulull from Beyond the Pixels on Nov 18, 9am PT.

Get real insights on how indie studios can streamline workflows, playtest smarter, and grow their community! (And chat LIVE with some of the FirstLook team 😎)

👉 Join us: https://t.co/4XFRvhxlT3

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

Halfway through OSS 2025 and the vibes are 🔥

KBBQ was a hit! Huge thanks to @upfrontvc & all partners for an epic welcome dinner.

We're ready for today’s panels, roundtables & networking with leaders like Mike Seavers, Eden Chen, Alexandra Takei & more. Let’s go!

[player.gg @playerdotgg]

How do you go from a few friends testing your game to thousands shaping it?

@playlastflag by Night Street Games did it with the help of FirstLook! 🚀

✅ 5K+ testers onboarded
✅ 40K+ Steam wishlists fired up
✅ Valuable feedback gained

[Eden Chen @edenchen]

What if the next revolution in gaming was all about emotion?

@JenovaChen, founder of @thatgamecompany, shares how emotional design is gaming’s biggest opportunity and why persistence paying off matters.

Huge thanks to Jenova & co-host @kevinyzhang for this epic convo!

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

Summer 2025 at Pragma brought major launches, new features, and growth with 100+ studios on board! 🚀

Highlights:
✔️ Pragma Connect launch
✔️ @firstlookgg upgrades & Discover page
✔️ Gamescom debut booth
✔️ Online Services Summit Oct 8–9

Read more: https://t.co/LGQuqYLM4P

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

🚀 The 3rd Annual Online Services Summit is back Oct 8–9 in Culver City!

Join top gaming & engineering leaders for 2 days of insights + networking:

🎙️ Mike Seavers (Scopely, ex-Epic/Riot)
🎙️ Alexandra Takei (Ruckus Games, podcast host)
🎙️ Meir Wasserman (2K, ex-Amazon/EA)
...and more!

✅ Dinners, panels, roundtables & real conversations shaping the future of online games.

👉 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://t.co/vGVRgTFuep
👉 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲: https://t.co/RKuG1xCHGw

[Eden Chen @edenchen]

Had the pleasure of sitting down with @bingfish, EA’s co-founder + Duolingo board member, on the Gaming Founders Podcast!

Here’s just a taste:
✅ EA nearly went bankrupt in year one
💸 Survived on a $5M bridge loan
🏈 Built the Madden Football empire

Essential listening for game creators and founders.

[Eden Chen @edenchen]

Spellbreak nearly folded multiple times. @sjsivak fought through: built a top Discord, fundraised FOUR rounds, and eventually sold to Blizzard.

Biggest lessons:
1️⃣ Premium > Free-to-play
2️⃣ Raise when you can, not when you need to
3️⃣ Make people care about your game
4️⃣ Team is everything

Catch this founder story on The Gaming Founders Podcast!

[Pragma @pragmaplatform]

Gaming Founders Podcast Episode drop! 🎙️

Did you know?
☑️ @discord started as a failed game studio (Hammer & Chisel)
☑️ Almost shut down pre-launch
☑️ A Reddit post + gamer chats saved the day
☑️ Even built (and scrapped) a full game store

Catch @edenchen’s convo with @svishnevskiy diving into Discord’s journey to 200M+ users.

[Eden Chen @edenchen]

What does it take to build something like @discord? 🤔

Loved chatting with @svishnevskiy (CTO & Co-founder) on the Gaming Founders Podcast, from near shutdown to 200M+ users.

At @firstlookgg, we’re betting big on Discord for player connections.

Podcast links in comments!