Los Angeles Ecommerce Firm Xsolla Reaches Landmark Partnership with Global Esports Federation

Xsolla, a global commerce company that develops tools to launch, grow, and monetize video games, signed a five-year partnership with the Global Esports Federation, the world-convening body for esports. As GEF’s exclusive partner for commerce, payments, wallet, loyalty, and distribution, Xsolla will power the entire GEF ecosystem, including the flagship Global Esports Games, pro-series Global Esports Tour, global GEFcon, and more than 180 member federations across five continents.

“Esports has outgrown the infrastructure underneath it. Athletes wait on prize money, federations run events on patchwork payment systems, and fans hit walls when they try to buy a ticket or a jersey from another region,” said Berkley Egenes, chief marketing and growth officer at Xsolla, in a statement. “This partnership replaces these individual systems with one commerce layer across the entire GEF ecosystem. When a fan buys a digital item or ticket, a federation opens a web shop, or an athlete in any of 200 markets gets paid on time and in local currency, this represents where the partnership is doing its job. And it starts in our home city in Los Angeles in 2026.”

The announcement comes as GEF marks 100 days to go to the Los Angeles 2026 Global Esports Games, adding further momentum to the road to Los Angeles and GEF’s flagship global esports celebration this December. The partnership launches at the GEGLA26, where Xsolla will begin serving as the unified commerce and payments layer for the GEF ecosystem.

The partnership responds to a structural change in esports. As esports have professionalized, their commercial operations have remained fragmented and siloed, with athletes, federations, and fans navigating patchwork payment systems and inconsistent experiences across borders. Xsolla’s model consolidates these activities into a single commerce layer, applying infrastructure built for global game publishers to the organizations now governing competitive play.

“The Global Esports Federation was founded to connect the world through esports, and that ambition needs real infrastructure behind it such as payments that work in every market, prize money that reaches every athlete, and rewards that follow fans across every property,” said Sir Paul J. Foster, president and chief executive of the Global Esports Federation, in a statement. “Xsolla brings that infrastructure, and a network of thousands of studios and partners, to our 180+ #worldconnected Member Federations. Together we are building the digital super-highway connecting gaming, esports, education, commerce, and innovation, and it opens in Los Angeles.”