Now in Development
Zovian is the home for community-run gaming events.
Your games, your schedule, your skill level, with payouts that reach far past first place.
Hi, I'm Marlena Mercado, founder of Zovian. I spent seven years at PlayStation's Bend Studio and helped ship Days Gone.
In 2025, I was one of many developers who got laid off. Game development is a tight-knit world, and it hurt to watch so many friends lose their jobs without being able to do anything about it. I started Zovian because I wanted to help.
I looked at many ways to do that, and ended with building an indie pro gaming scene, where you don't have to be the best in the world to get paid.
Zovian is a full-service platform for community-run gaming events. We're building tools that support organizers at every step: creating the event, registration, picking participants, livestreaming, moderation, score submission and validation, leaderboards, and payouts through an established payment processor.
Zovian is intended to be a home for all kinds of events. Picture a Friday-night 1v1 bracket where you face off against players at your own skill level, round by round. A weekend speedrun, solo or with your squad, where the top half of the bracket takes home a payout. A developer handing players an early build where the scoring is ranked on the bugs they can dig up. A build contest where the community votes on the best base. A week-long high-score chase in a roguelike you can jump into whenever you've got an hour. The event lists are made for the community, by the community.
When games and money show up in the same sentence, it's usually about esports or a scam. We want to give people a fair shot at prize money without needing to be the best in the world.
We don't, yet. We are building Zovian off of savings and secondary income. We're staying fully self-funded, to ensure the only people we answer to are our users.
Our community events are free to enter, and Zovian pays every prize pool.
So what's the catch? Our events won't always be free to enter. After launch, hosts who don't sponsor their own prize pools will have the option to set entry fees.
Zovian will run on Tickets. You'll use them to enter or create tournaments, pay moderators, donate to players, hosts, and prize pools, and buy cosmetics. Ticket sales will cover prize pools, host and moderator shares, the cost to run events on our platform, and our team's pay. We're still working out the exact numbers, and we'll share our full fee breakdown before alpha testing.
We're designing entry fees for non-sponsored tournaments to start at a dollar or less, with each event set up so 30 to 75% of players get their entry back or more. Later we'll add an optional membership with à la carte perks for the different roles on the platform, a bigger cosmetics shop, and small sponsorships. Nothing that affects who wins will ever be for sale.
Step 01 — Vision & Foundation
There are millions of players across thousands of games who have never earned a cent from playing video games. For most of them, the only path to getting paid runs through esports: pick one game, play it like a full-time job, and hope you end up among the best in the world. We're building Zovian to open the door for everyone else.
We want any gaming community to be able to run events with prize money, in the games they already love. Payouts that reach well past the top few spots, so a good finish can still pay off even if you don't take first. Tournaments matched to your skill level and the way you like to play, so every player gets a fair shot.
Participating in an event is only one of several ways to be part of what we're building. People who already run tournaments for their communities can host on Zovian, design their own formats, and get paid for the work. The events they create shape what Zovian becomes, from the games people play to the kinds of competitions they show up for.
Anyone who's moderated a community knows how much of their time it takes. Moderators work events to review scores, handle reports, and make the hard calls to keep them fair, and on Zovian they get paid for it too.
Getting a game noticed is one of the hardest parts of making one. Developers can bring their games to Zovian and put them in front of players looking for something new to compete in, whether it's a solo passion project or a full studio release.
It all fits into the life you already have. Jump into an event when you feel like it and sit one out when you don't.
Tournaments for every style of play, from laid-back community events to serious competition, with formats shaped by the people who host them.
Host your own tournaments, moderate for fair play, or bring your friends along. Players can take home prize money, and hosts and moderators get paid for the work of running events.
Tournaments pay out broadly, with the rules, fees, and payout structure laid out where you can see them before you join.
The game list grows with what the community wants to play, from long-time favorites to indie releases that haven't hit the store yet.
Step 02 — User Research
We had an idea we were excited about: a way for people to make money playing games without having to be the very best (like no one ever was). Before we started building what we imagined, we spoke with gamers directly, because we wanted to build with the community's needs in mind instead of hoping we'd guessed right. We asked a lot of people a lot of questions, about how they play, what they hope to see, and what they need to make that idea a reality.
This page walks through what we found. We wanted to understand the type of gamers out there, from casual players to hardcore competitors, and the differences in how they think about competing. We wanted to know how they'd feel about a platform like ours, both what would worry them and what would make them want to join. People gave us their time and their honesty to make this happen, so it only felt right to share the results with you.
Section 01
Three types of players kept showing up in our conversations. No one fit perfectly into one box, but clear patterns showed up to help people feel like we were building for them.
Pattern One
People who love games but never felt like the competitive world had room for them. These are the people who play games like Stardew Valley, Binding of Isaac, or Genshin Impact. They want a way in that's low-stakes and easy to understand, an entertaining event that's worth showing up for, and tournaments that fit their skill level and diverse interests instead of forcing them to match other people's favorites.
Pattern Two
People who play seriously and aim for mastery in their chosen games. These are people who compete in Call of Duty, strive for the fastest time in Super Mario 64 speedruns, or aim for a Tetris high score. They want structure that supports how they play, genuine transparency around money and rules, and proof that we'll follow through on what we promise to deliver.
Pattern Three
People who care about the games and the community around them more than they care about competing or winning. These are the people who run game photo contests, stream their evening play sessions, or join local events at their college or game shop. What they're after is room to build something unique, tools to bring their community along, and proof this platform has a space that supports how they bring people together.
Section 02
Competition is a loaded word. When we asked gamers about it, most people pictured head-to-head PvP games, the stress of rivalries and toxicity, or public performances. But the deeper we dug into these conversations, the more the word "competition" started to evolve. The modern definition of competition didn't seem to fit everything we found.
Unlike competition, which people seemed to associate with winning against others, we wanted a word that covered all of the motivations for why people participate. So we created a different word: competeer.
Competere is a Latin word that translates to "strive together." Therefore, we are using "competeer" to describe the range of motivations that drive gamers to participate. We found four styles of competeer, and no single person fit entirely within one. Almost everyone showed at least two of these motivations, and some were driven by all four, just to different degrees.
Striving to
Some people don't want to beat their friend. They want to beat themselves. They love overcoming difficulty, putting themselves in situations that test their mastery. Beating someone else is nice, but it's not as important as optimizing their skill and hitting their own goals. These are the people who study video clips to learn exactly where they're going wrong, spend hours drilling the same level or skill until it's second nature, or invent a harder way to play once the normal one stops being a challenge.
Striving With
Sometimes the point is striving because there are other people involved. The fun isn't just winning, it's the team, the rivalry, the thrill or surprise that comes from gaming with or against someone else. Without another person in it, the whole thing feels empty. These are the people who want real bragging rights after a win, who show up specifically because their friends are playing, or who stick with a game because of the people in it, not just the game itself.
Striving for
Some people want the numbers to do the talking, and aim to see their performance reflected somewhere. They're tracking their progression, chasing measurable achievements they can point to, and they expect those numbers to be honest, good or bad. These are the people who build spreadsheets to track their stats, regularly check their leaderboard standing, or hunt down every achievement or collectible in a game.
Striving for
For some, how it feels to play matters more than how it ends. The thrill of discovering new mechanics and unexplored maps, or the close loss that's more fun than the boring win, all of it is part of the reward. That's because what they're chasing is the experience itself, not the same grind toward the same win condition. These are the people who keep pushing through a hard fight because they're desperate to see what's next, who stick with the character or strategy they love even when it's not the popular pick, or who chase the kind of match where every small decision could tip it either way.
None of these styles of competeer exist in isolation. People who track their stats (Striving for the Record) might do so because it helps them understand their own improvement (Striving to Outdo Yourself). People who love the experience of a close match (Striving for the Moment) might find it matters more because they were playing against another person who was also trying their hardest (Striving With Others). These styles are a spectrum, and while some people may be driven primarily by one motivation, others are driven by a blend of several. Nor are these styles of competeer fixed. Many people described their motivations shifting depending on the game, the people around them, and the context of the moment.
Section 03
Player patterns and motivations for what makes people want to participate only tell part of the story. These are the things that people most consistently brought up as we started talking specifically about what we're building.
Loot boxes, pay-to-win mechanics, and shady websites have taught players to distrust anything that mixes games and money. When we said you can win real money, everyone we spoke to looked for the strings attached. For some, that meant assuming the worst until proven otherwise. For others, it meant going in with a grain of salt until they understood "the catch."
Transparency was one idea that got instant, uncomplicated buy-in from everyone we talked to. People want the business model and the rules to be things they can check, not something they have to go digging for. That means the numbers like the payout, the fees, the company's share, should be laid out plainly. They expect that nothing important is buried in the fine print, and that the rules and expectations won't change without warning.
Everyone started our conversation assuming paid gaming wasn't for them. Esports has shaped what people assume it takes to get paid to play games. Pick a game, play it constantly, treat it like your only job, and once you're the best of the best, then you may get noticed. To imagine themselves getting paid to play, the people we talked to needed something new. They needed to know the competition would be with people of similar skill, not just the best of the best, and that the chance that they could get a payout felt realistic, not a massive risk with a tiny chance at a big win. They didn't want something that would take over their life, they wanted something that they could jump in and out of, that fit into their existing life.
A good community was the single biggest reason people said they'd stick around. A bad one was the single biggest reason they'd leave, and that held true even for the most competitive players in the room. Toxicity without repercussions, especially in voice chat, came up again and again, and women in particular described being driven out because of it. A bad reputation is enough to keep someone from ever trying, just as a friend's trust is enough to bring them in. In a competitive space, people expect the company itself to work to build an honest, supportive, and welcoming community.
Nearly everyone had a cheating story from somewhere else, and how a platform responded to that determines whether people stick around. Most accepted cheating, smurfing included, as an unavoidable part of playing online, but expected the platform to have definitive rules and accountability. When someone reported a cheater, they wanted visibility into the review and the outcome, proof that we actually hold rule-breakers accountable. They wanted a real person reviewing those reports, not just an automatic ban, because real money raises the stakes on both sides. Cheating gets more tempting, and a genuinely skilled player mistaken for a cheater has more to lose.
Some people worried that adding money would turn something they love into something that feels like work. Money raises the stakes, and that can turn a fun match into something stressful. A friendly atmosphere helped ease some people's concerns. Others wanted a way to earn without the stress of having to perform live in front of others. Some requested prizes other than money, like games, cosmetics, or swag.
Some people who couldn't get excited about participating lit up at the idea of hosting or moderating instead. Others had already been organizing tournaments in their own community for free, and found the idea of getting paid for that work exciting. What they wanted most was tools that kept the logistics simple, matched their style of engagement, and allowed them to run unique and exciting events to build their community.
Section 04
These four commitments are built from the vision of our platform, and from what we learned from the people we spoke with. They are our guiding lights for how we are building Zovian, and inform every decision we make.
You shouldn't have to change your career path just to get paid to play the games you love. Esports is a valid path for the few willing to give their whole life to one game, and local tournaments give everyone else a place to test their skill and have fun. Both leave the vast majority of people who love to play games unpaid. We are building this for everyone who enjoys a challenge, takes pride in their skill, or just wants a new way to play games they love. Whether that means using Zovian as a path to enter esports, trying to earn some extra beer money, or just having a good time with friends, you belong here. However you play, we're building this with you in mind.
Gamers have plenty of reason to be skeptical of anything that looks like a money grab. We are building a platform where games and money will coexist without it being exploitative. For us, the community is the platform. Without people showing up to play, host, and moderate, Zovian is a tool sitting on a shelf with no one to use it. That's why community comes first here, and everyone should get compensated fairly for what they put in. None of this works unless it works for all of us, so when Zovian grows, what we can give back to the platform and the people in it grows with it.
Trust is the foundation of our platform, and trust only comes from clarity and understanding. We're committed to this fully, and believe that true transparency is an infrastructure choice, not just a wall of fine print. You should always know the rules, your rights, and what you're signing up for before you agree to anything, and our systems are designed to help you discover what you need to know. Where the money goes, how decisions get made, what's expected of you, what's next, all of it should be something you can both easily find and understand to make an informed decision.
The platform gives people a place to participate. The community gives it a reason to matter. We're building this for you, and that means staying aligned with what players, game developers, tournament organizers, and content creators need, not just what we think they need. So we want to listen and ideate with the community as we go, and we want people to care enough to speak up when something isn't right, and feel like their voice is heard and responded to. That's how this becomes something that lasts.
Step 03 — Proof of Concept · In Progress
We're building Zovian's core systems now, and our community is part of every step. Join us in private tournaments, test early versions of the platform, try new features before anyone else, and share your ideas to help shape what Zovian becomes. There are three ways to get involved right now. Pick one, or do all three! The waitlist and testing both start with the Get Involved button below, and our events run through our socials.
Follow our socials for events and updates
Step 04 — Closed Alpha · Upcoming
Closed Alpha is invite-only access for small groups as we build, gather feedback, and grow. Ahead of it, we're looking for indie developers and community hosts to bring in first, followed by moderators, gamers, and content creators!
If you're building a game, we'd like to feature it in Closed Alpha events, in front of players looking for new ways to challenge themselves. That goes for anything from a solo project to a full studio release.
If you already run events for your community, we'd like you to be among the first to host on Zovian. You'll run real events with our early hosting tools and tell us what's missing.
Partners
Interested in partnering with us? Reach out at contact [at] zovian [dot] com, and let's talk.
Everyone else
Want to hear when invites go out? Join the waitlist, and we'll keep you posted as we open Zovian to more people.
Step 05 — Closed Beta · Upcoming
Expanding access, scaling what works, and building what the community needs. Want to hear as more spots open up? Join the waitlist, and we'll keep you posted as access expands.
Step 06 — Full Release · Upcoming
Zovian opens to everyone. In the meantime, see where it all started.