Gaming fintech Zebedee and mobile gaming studio Fumb Games said Bitcoin Miner, a simple idle mobile game that simulates running a crypto mining business, has been played by over one million players.

The companies said that this proves that sustainable play-and-earn mobile gaming works, is easy for anyone to get into and is here to stay. Unlike any Web3 titles, the game is completely free to play and rewards users in real Bitcoin just for playing. Playstudios uses a similar rewards model for its games.

Bitcoin Miner is not a new game. In fact, it was released almost five years ago but never gained traction with users. It was essentially a dead game until its creator, Fumb Games, partnered with Zebedee to add real Bitcoin rewards.

This transformed the game overnight, turning it from a failed project into the mobile gaming studio’s most profitable and biggest game. Now, almost a year after the game’s re-release with Bitcoin rewards, it has become arguably the most popular play-and-earn game in the world by user count, the companies said.

While it’s still early, successful projects like Bitcoin Miner are proving that this concept does resonate with users and that the games can scale sustainably.”

Bitcoin rewards in Bitcoin Miner are powered by Zebedee’s payments platform, tailored to the specific needs of game developers. It is a powerful tool that lets any gaming studio easily implement programmable Bitcoin payments using simple APIs. It is a fully managed solution that removes the need for game makers to worry about any technical Bitcoin or blockchain-related issues. They just make sure their game wallets are funded and watch the payments fly instantly into their users’ wallets, the companies said.

For users, it’s even simpler. They just get the Zebedee app, easily withdraw rewards from the game and can then instantly use their Bitcoin to shop for more than 5,000 gift cards or move it to a wallet, exchange or service of their choice.