Online games are now being extensively developed to become electronic commerce platforms.

A fully integrated esports super-app, Kalaro, was recently launched in Manila by a Singapore-based software company.

“The super app was created not only as a platform for gaming mastery but as an esports monetization engine, designed for earning,” Kalaro founder and CEO Jun Lasco said.

“This will be a game-changer in the esports industry. It’s a software platform that creates continuous gamer engagement, via its own social media module, its e-wallet and currency, its brand storefront, and its own tournament management module.

“Monetization is a major industry problem these days. Unlike a few years ago, Youtube and Facebook monetization is now very difficult, mainly due to the ‘ranking algorithm.’ The large volume of streamers and gamers broadcasting content makes it challenging to produce considerable traction that brings monetary earnings,” Lasco explained.

“Continuous engagement via live and recorded tournaments allows gamers to be entertained, study how professionals do it, and watch parties with ease. Podcasts or training videos can also be broadcast live inside the platform’s social media hub,” he added.

Network for gamers

Kalaro created a social network hub for gamers so that finding a teammate, a new gamer-friend, a coach, or a competitor for a friendly match would be fast and fun.

“While LinkedIn is for professionals, and Facebook is for everyone, Kalaro is the social platform for gamers. It’s where people can meet new gamer friends,” Fujitsu and Ayala Systems alumnus explained.

The software architect and technopreneur, who goes by the game name “White Shadow,” added: “It’s also a brand engagement engine. Yes, brands can use the Kalaro platform to reach and engage with 43 million Filipino gamers. Brands can keep them in the know and updated on the latest trends and happenings in the world of esports and how their company creates new products to be ahead of these trends.”

“Joining tournaments and similar competitions is the only proven way to gain mastery — in any sport, for that matter. Now that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recognized esports as a legitimate sport to be soon included as an official Olympics event, Filipinos can leverage Kalaro so that tournaments, for training purposes, can be implemented across the country’s 82 provinces,” he indicated.

Kalaro’s automated tournament management module allows organizers to run their operations cost-effectively and highly profitably. It’s a revenue multiplier. It’s a brand’s missing link to engage with millions of esports fans. Gamers benefit, since joining these tournaments allows them to improve their skills and boost their gaming stature, giving them higher chances of being discovered by their dream team and dream leagues, locally and internationally. They can even build their own teams. Kalaro provides a platform for gamers to discover and join tournaments being staged anywhere across the Philippines or the world.”

Gaming merchandise will soon be available for purchase inside Kalaro after the various brands and products have been onboarded to the platform.

“The presence of gaming merchandise creates a frictionless experience in shopping for a gamer’s favorite gaming products. Quite interestingly, Kalaro allows the use of its own in-app currency called Kalaro Gems and the Gem loyalty points to be used to buy merch from the brands’ storefronts.”

“To make Kalaro a safe and secure platform for gamers, there’s a special collaboration between Kalaro and Union Bank of the Philippines to manage Kalaro’s e-wallet transactions. All transactions are safe and secure and are done in real-time, thus eliminating the risk of of fraud and cheating. Furthermore, all users on the platform are verified. All activities in the app are auditable. Screenshots and chats are saved inside every match in a tournament as evidence of who won and what happened during each and every match,” explained Lasco.

Open beta testing of Kalaro began in October 2021, allowing the Kalaro Team to gather feedback from more than 10,000 open beta testers, with more than 60 percent of the open beta testers coming from the Philippines. The Global Esports Federation (GEF) became a strategic partner of Kalaro after the Olympics Esports Week in June 2023 in Singapore. In November 2023, Kalaro acquired its first U.S. investor, allowing further development work to be done, leading to the launch of Kalaro’s newest version and the introduction of “KLR” as its new global icon.

Lasco stated: “The release of Kalaro ‘s version 2.1 on 25 July is the culmination of four-plus years of product development, product market fit activities, and fine-tuning of our business model to better serve its customers.”

“Through ups and downs, the Kalaro team overcame all challenges. Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to be a big factor in accelerating the implementation of Kalaro’s algorithm that matches a user with other fellow gamers. Gamer matching is now part of the super-app’s news feed, but this will soon be in a separate module — to better enhance the discovery of new gamer-friends inside our platform,” the app developer said.