Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Nicholas Longano, Chief Executive Officet at Scuti:
Q: Nicholas, what is Scuti?
A: Scuti is the world’s first metaCommerce and universal rewards platform for games. Scuti allows gamers to shop for any product through the lobbies of their favorite video games and metaverse experiences. Scuti offers players loyalty rewards fueled by brands. Most retailers and brands have used this tactic for decades, but Scuti now brings these loyalty programs and gamified shopping to video games for the first time ever.
Scuti is commerce built for games and the metaverse, and it opens the gaming industry to the $5T global ecommerce market. It provides brands access to the walled garden of video games and game-makers rich and accretive new revenue streams. Scuti‘s personalized, AI-driven platform gamifies shopping for players through product curation and an extensive rewards system, allowing game makers a better way to engage, retain and convert.
Through Scuti, players are rewarded with every engagement and purchase. It is completely unobtrusive to the game experience, and players never leave their game. Scuti only monetizes from the lobby – the most valuable real estate in video games – allowing users to access their Scuti experience and account, shopping and earning rewards daily, without ever impacting gameplay.
Players earn rewards from in-game achievements (rewarded play), every purchase they make, and every time they visit the store. Scuti$ can be redeemed for in-game purchases, physical products, converted to any game’s native currency, or gifted from one player to the next. Scuti rewards are also interoperable, crossing universally between video game and metaverse experiences on different devices and platforms.
By dissolving barriers between games, commerce, and loyalty rewards we open up the gaming ecosystem to the benefit of players, game makers, and brands alike.
Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: Scuti has partnered with dozens of brands, businesses, and game developers since its fall 2021 launch. Avec Les Filles, Karla Hanson, Koio, Earth Shoes, Multi Sac, Mundi Wallets, Hollywood Urchins, Public Rec, Chaser, Boku Superfood, and FeelGood Superfoods are brands recently announced and currently featured on the platform, with many more partnerships awaiting implementation and announcement.
Scuti’s platform covers a wide variety of players and millions of users. Recently announced partners include Rock Out! by 20 Below Games, Mahjong Deluxe by Ensenasoft (expanded from PC to Android after initial success), Atom Universe by Atom Republic, Deadmau5 and Kaskade browser games by Wolf72 Games Arcade, House Party by Eek! Games, and Chief Media partnership. To date, Scuti has signed with over 15 game makers and strategic partners and will have a reach of almost 50 million monthly players by year end 2022.
The Scuti team of gaming industry veterans and leading entrepreneurs have also been active in a variety of networking conferences. Notable recent events we have attended include a LA Games Conference, Spring Media Buying Summit Keynote, Context 365 Miami, Global Metaverse Conference, VentureBeat/GamesBeat Into The Metaverse 2 Summit, Marketing Innovation & Sports Marketing Keynote, and Crypto and NFTs in Sports Moderated Panel.
Scuti has also been featured in several recent press articles from VentureBeat, GamesBeat, and Games Press, including “Brand Fueled Rewards Will Drive The Games Ecosystem”, “Connecting brands and players in the metaverse with gCommerce”, “Scuti fuels in-app purchases through its gCommerce platform”, and “GamesBeat Panel discusses brand-fueled Rewards in the Metaverse”.
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Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: All brands and businesses need to plan their Web 3.0 or metaverse strategy. Brands have long tried to connect with the gaming audience – and that relationship has been tenuous. Web 2.0 and traditional digital advertising strategies do not work with gamers.
What makes Scuti’s platform unique is it introduces players to interoperable wallets. Scuti lets players access their rewards and shop Scuti from any video game and device. Scuti also gives players control over their rewards – letting them choose how to earn and redeem their Scuti$. Interoperability is crucial in Web 3.0, and Scuti provides that bridge and solution for all.
Beyond product placement, sponsorships, and native ad billboards, advertisers have struggled to connect with players and, most importantly, convert. Scuti offers brands the opportunity to be organic to gameplay without being obtrusive. Banner ads and other ads which break the play experience and eject players from their game are bad practices that do not belong in games.
Scuti’s platform has introduced the concept of brand-fueled rewards that allow players to earn and redeem rewards universally across any game they play. The games industry has trained players to earn rewards through their games, and Scuti naturally extends normal gameplay and gamifies shopping in a fun and organic way.
Brand-fueled rewards are designed to generate new revenue and extend gameplay and the player experience. Examples of Scuti’s gamified rewards are: Allowing players to complete a level to earn branded rewards or coupons for savings or freebies, progressing through gameplay and earning Scuti$ via play-to-earn and rewarded play, making a purchase and receiving up to 5% back in loyalty Scuti$, and more.
Just as brands fuel the sports I watch, the TV I enjoy, and the concerts and music I listen to, so, too, will they fuel the game economy. Through Scuti, branded rewards are implemented in a way that always preserves gameplay integrity and puts the player first. Brands connect directly with gamers and positively contribute to the gaming ecosystem, game makers engage, retain, and convert with a new generation of rewards, and players unlock gamified shopping and free rewards.
51% of gamers want to shop from their games and earn rewards but, until now, there has been no way for them to do so. Scuti changes this…and it does so the right way. Scuti’s system works, holds a 100% player satisfaction rating after hundreds of thousands of connections, and new brands and developers are quickly taking interest.
Q: What can we expect from your company in the next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: Scuti’s platform is currently available on games on iOS, Android, and PC. In June we will be rolling out our HTML5 version. This will allow our platform to be more versatile moving forward and prepare us for our expansion into consoles in later 2022.
You will also see us active in many more conferences, press releases, and on our social media as we roll out exciting new brand and video game partnerships in the months to come.
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Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: Scuti is built and run by gamers and leading video game veterans from Vivendi, Blizzard, Microsoft Games, Zynga, and Epic Games; each with over 20 years of game experience. The company is 100% virtual with a zero carbon footprint.
Scuti was founded by Nicholas Longano in 2019, a 20 year video game veteran and entrepreneur. The idea for the Scuti platform came to him when he overheard his son and friends, as they were playing Fortnite, talking about how cool it would be to buy a product within a video game. His main focus for Scuti is to listen to players and find ways to enhance the gameplay experience for players.
Scuti also believes that Web 3.0 and the future of video games and the metaverse will be a closer tie and coexistence between brands, game makers and players.
