Appcharge wants to bring more AI activity onto its direct-to-consumer platform.
Today, May 14, the Tel-Aviv-based mobile game DTC payment platform shipped its hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. In layman’s terms, Appcharge’s MCP server is a bridge program that connects AI models like Claude, Cursor, and Claude Code to tools and data sources on Appcharge’s platform. This server is intended to lay the foundation for a broader set of agentic publisher workflows on Appcharge’s platform. The MCP server is available today to all Appcharge publishers.
In 2026, mobile game publishers have embraced DTC monetization, with Appcharge processing more than $1 billion in annualized DTC transactions across more than 150 games. Amid this rise in DTC activity, technical onboarding has become one of the biggest challenges for Appcharge to grow its business, and the new MCP server is designed to address this challenge.
The idea behind Appchargeʼs hosted MCP server is to let publishers’ research and development teams connect from their preferred MCP-compatible AI tool. Once connected, developers can read configuration, identify missing or invalid callback URLs, and configure the required APIs without leaving their editor. Every action is validated and logged in the Appcharge dashboard.
“The MCP server is the first step in opening Appcharge to the way publisher teams will work next — from inside their IDE [Integrated Development Environment], alongside their agents, with every action auditable,ˮ said Maor Sason, CEO and co-founder of Appcharge, in a press release. “We started with onboarding because thatʼs where R&D time gets lost on the integration side. More of the platform will follow from here.ˮ
The first release of Appcharge’s hosted MCP server includes a focused Developer Setup Skills Suite covering the APIs (application programming interfaces) publishers often integrate first, such as Player Authentication, Web Store Personalization, and Awarding. The goal is for Appcharge to have a self-service onboarding flow.
Although use of AI tools is expanding across all facets of game development, AI — and any technology connected to or adjacent to it — is still a controversial topic in the industry, with public perception and industry objections remaining obstacles for those looking to implement the new technology. In a written interview with GamesBeat, Appcharge chief marketing officer Gil Tov-Ly acknowledged game makers’ AI concerns, but said that the goal of his company’s AI push was not to replace developers, with AI acting as a “force multiplier for studios” when applied to infrastructure and service layers like payments, onboarding, personalization, and optimization.
“Our job at Appcharge is to help publishers grow faster, operate more efficiently, and maximize the revenue they generate from their player relationships. That’s where we believe AI can create real value,” Tov-Ly said. “The MCP launch is a good example of that. Instead of spending days or weeks on manual onboarding and configuration work, teams can move faster directly from their development environment, shorten integration cycles, experiment more rapidly, and ultimately get to market faster.”