Bolt, the checkout, identity, and payments leader powering faster, smarter commerce, has joined Aethir’s gaming ecosystem as a key infrastructure support provider, enabling seamless, one-click in-game payments for players around the world. This partnership, supported by Aethir’s $100M Ecosystem fund, aims to power open-web checkout for games distributed beyond traditional app stores. Under the agreement, Bolt is the payments provider of choice for studios leveraging Aethir’s decentralized GPU cloud infrastructure. This partnership aligns perfectly with Bolt’s expansion into the gaming industry and empowers gaming studios across Aethir’s ecosystem with support for direct-to-player monetization.

Thanks to Aethir and Bolt’s partnership, game developers can sell digital items directly to players across browser-based environments and social platforms, including Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and WeChat, using Bolt’s one-click checkout.

Bolt is the checkout, identity and payments leader powering faster, smarter commerce. Its B2B and B2C offerings form a complementary ecosystem. Merchants like Revolve, Kendra Scott and Lilly Pulitzer use Bolt to boost conversion and loyalty, while more than 80 million shoppers benefit from one-click checkout and a secure, cross-site identity. Bolt’s core product suite, CheckoutOS, and the SuperApp, a new all-in-one finance and crypto hub, help merchants grow while giving consumers convenience and control. From high-risk processing to one-click subscriptions, Bolt replaces fragmented tools with future-ready infrastructure that scales.

“For studios distributing games on the open web, payments need to operate inside the gameplay experience,” said Kyle Sye, Head of Games at Bolt. “Aethir selected Bolt because our checkout lets developers sell directly to players through the browser, retain more revenue, and operate outside app store payment systems. This partnership gives studios a practical way to monetize where their players already are.”

Through the integration, studios hosted on Aethir’s decentralized GPU cloud can use Bolt’s browser-based checkout for in-game purchases, bypassing app store payment flows and associated platform fees. Purchases are completed in a secure browser pop-up and confirmed in real time, with transactions passed back into the game without interrupting play.

Thanks to its rapidly growing fleet of nearly 440,000 premium-quality GPU Containers, Aethir supports over 150 partners and customers from the AI, gaming, and Web3 sectors with reliable, scalable, and cost-effective decentralized cloud computing services. Aethir’s gaming ecosystem includes established publishers and studios such as Animoca Brands, Mythical Games, Immutable, and Parallel, underscoring the scale and credibility of developers positioned to benefit from open-web monetization enabled by the partnership. 

The agreement with Aethir builds on Bolt’s recent entry into gaming through its Playfinity partnership, marking continued momentum as the company expands its commerce infrastructure into interactive and creator-driven environments. Furthermore, Aethir’s $100 million Ecosystem fund may be used to support user acquisition, player incentives, and go-to-market activities for games that adopt Bolt’s browser-based checkout.

“Our focus is giving developers infrastructure that actually supports scale,” said Paul Thind, Chief Revenue Officer at Aethir. “Payments are a core part of that. By working with Bolt, we’re enabling studios to sell directly to players through browser-based checkout, avoid app store payment flows, and retain control over pricing, data, and player relationships.”

In-game spending continues to grow. According to Sensor Tower’s State of Gaming 2025 report, players spent $82 billion on in-app purchases in 2024, underscoring the demand for alternative payment models as distribution expands beyond app stores.

The partnership follows recent regulatory and legal developments that require app stores to permit third-party payment options, further accelerating adoption of browser-based checkout across gaming platforms.