Playback Rewards Gaming Rewards Platform
We built this gaming rewards platform from scratch — from MVP to over 600,000 users and a 5-person dev team.
🎯 Goal
Build a gaming rewards platform that analyzes in-app purchase receipts, rewards users with bonus points for installing specific games and completing quests, and allows them to exchange points for gift cards.
💡 Outcome
Launched MVP in 3 months with 1 developer, then scaled to 600K+ users and a 5-person development team. The platform now processes thousands of transactions daily with real-time fraud detection.
How It Works
Playback Rewards connects mobile gamers with game publishers. Users discover new games and earn rewards, while publishers get quality users who actually play their games.
Discover Games
Users browse a curated catalog of mobile games across different genres — from puzzle games to strategy titles.
Complete Quests
Each game has specific quests — reach a certain level, play for a set time, or make an in-app purchase. Complete them to earn Piggy Banks.
Earn on Any Purchase
The unique part: users earn cashback on in-app purchases in ANY mobile game, not just partnered titles. The app analyzes purchase receipts automatically.
Redeem Rewards
Convert Piggy Banks to gift cards (Amazon, Google Play, Target, Walmart, Apple) or PayPal cash. Minimum $5, payouts within 1-2 mins.
Key Features We Built
💰 Dual Currency System
Coins for special actions (unlocking chests, re-igniting streaks) and Piggy Banks as the primary reward currency for cash-out.
🔥 Daily Streak System
Users earn bonus Piggy Banks for consistent daily usage. Miss a day? Use Coins to re-ignite the streak.
🎮 Weekly Rotating Quests
Fresh challenges every week — play for 10 minutes, reach level 5, make a purchase. Keeps users engaged and coming back.
👥 Referral Program
Users earn rewards by inviting friends. Built viral growth into the product from day one.
Need a Rewards Platform?
We build gaming apps, loyalty programs, and reward systems from MVP to scale — with 6M+ users across our projects.
Let's TalkProject Journey
Built core app with 1 developer using our product development approach. Game discovery, points tracking, Amazon gift cards redemption.
Scaled to 100K users. Added affiliate integrations, advanced fraud detection, A/B testing.
Expanded to a dedicated team of 5 developers. 600K+ users, identity verification, real-time analytics.
Bi-weekly sprints, on-call rotation, continuous feature development based on user data.
About the Client
Playback Rewards is a US-based startup in the mobile gaming industry, focused on user acquisition and reward-based advertising. Their platform connects game publishers looking to acquire engaged users with mobile gamers seeking rewards for playing games they love.
The Challenge
- We needed to build solid fraud detection from day one
- Integration with 5+ affiliate networks each with different APIs
- Processing thousands of receipt verifications in real-time without latency
The team excels at managing estimations and delivering on time, and their communication is excellent. They've shown impressive adaptability and responsiveness, making them a pleasure to work with.
Under the Hood
Tech Stack
React Native for cross-platform mobile development, NestJS backend with TypeScript, Firebase Firestore and PostgreSQL for data persistence, Redis for caching, BullMQ for job queues, Docker containers, and GCP infrastructure.
Analytics & Attribution
BigQuery as the core analytics engine with Pub/Sub for real-time event streaming. Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics, and AppsFlyer for attribution and deep links enabling seamless user journeys from ads to specific in-app content.
Fraud Prevention
Multi-layered approach combining device fingerprinting, behavioral analysis, and VPN/proxy detection. Built a custom identity verification flow using Stripe Identity API — users verify their identity before cashing out gift cards with country-based validation rules, document verification, and automated fraud scoring to block suspicious accounts while keeping the experience smooth for legitimate users.
Device fingerprinting, behavioral analysis, VPN detection, and Stripe Identity verification to block fraud while keeping it smooth for real users.
App Screenshots
The Team Behind Playback Rewards
Bohdan
Full-Stack Developer
Built the entire MVP alone in 3 months.
Andriy
React Native Developer
Cross-platform mobile app development.
Filip
Backend Developer
API services and payment integrations.
Tania
Project Manager
Bi-weekly sprints and client communication.
Iryna
QA Engineer
Testing and fraud scenario validation.
🏆 Result
A gaming rewards platform that grew from a lean 3-month MVP to 600K+ users, demonstrating the power of starting small and scaling with the right mobile app development partner. The platform analyzes thousands of purchase receipts daily while maintaining a 4.4★ app store rating.
