What a year.
From shipping dozens of new features to showing up around the world, the past year marked a major milestone for both Pragma and Firstlook. We moved fast, built alongside our community, and laid the foundation for what’s next in 2026.
Here’s a look back at some of the biggest moments that shaped the year!
Year in Review
This year marked a turning point as Pragma acquired Firstlook, bringing two platforms with a shared belief together: better games are built when developers and players collaborate early and often. With our teams officially united, we moved quickly to deepen integration, accelerate product development, and expand what’s possible for studios building live games.
We launched Firstlook Labs and shipped 85+ new features, including major improvements across sentiment analysis, rewards, and creator tools, helping teams capture clearer feedback and build stronger player relationships. On the Pragma side, Pragma Engine expanded as a standalone platform, introducing Authentication, Social, and Monetization offerings that give developers more flexibility and control as they scale.
Firstlook also continued to grow as a destination for playtesting and discovery, with the launch of the Discover page, the Firstlook Playtester Network, and expanded support for Epic Games Store playtests. Beyond product, we invested in community and connection, launching the Games Growth Guild, returning with Season 2 of the Gaming Founders Podcast, and showing up around the world at GDC 2025, OSS 2025, and Gamescom 2025.
We closed out the year by raising $12.75M with participation from Square Enix, reinforcing long-term confidence from across the industry and setting a strong foundation for what comes next.
Let’s look back!
Pragma × Firstlook Become One
Pragma officially acquired Firstlook, uniting the platforms and aligning teams around a shared vision for the future of game development.
$12.75M Fundraise with Square Enix
We closed a $12.75M fundraising round, with participation from partners including Square Enix - a huge vote of confidence from across the industry.
Showing Up Around the World
From Gamescom 2025 to OSS 2025 and GDC 2025, we spent the year meeting developers where they are, sharing ideas, and learning from the community.
The Pragma Annual Hackathon
Our annual hackathon returned, giving teams space to experiment, collaborate, and ship creative new ideas across the platform.
Gaming Founders Podcast Season 2
Season 2 of the Gaming Founders Podcast launched, featuring conversations with Mike Seavers, Jenova Chen, Bing Gordon, Seth Sivak, and Stan Vishneveskiy. The season focused on founder journeys, live ops, and lessons learned from building enduring games. You can check it out right here!
Expanding Playtesting on Epic Games Store
Firstlook began supporting Epic Games Store playtests, helping studios reach players directly where they already play.
New Partnerships: i3D.net & Room 8
We partnered with i3D.net to strengthen infrastructure and performance, and with Room 8 to unlock new opportunities for studio collaboration.
Firstlook Playtester Network & Discover Page
We launched the Firstlook Playtester Network, growing the community of players shaping games early, alongside the Firstlook Discover page, making it easier than ever to find and join playtests.
Games Growth Guild Launch
The Games Growth Guild launched to bring founders and operators together around shared challenges, hard-won lessons, and sustainable growth.
Pragma Engine Goes Modular
We launched Authentication, Social, and Monetization as standalone Pragma Engine offerings, giving developers more control over how they build and scale.
Firstlook Labs + 85 Plus New Features
The year kicked off with the launch of Firstlook Labs, alongside 85+ new features across sentiment, rewards, and creator tooling, setting the pace for a year of fast iteration and community-driven development.
Looking Ahead
This year was about building momentum, together with our community, partners, and players. As Pragma and Firstlook move forward as one, we’re excited to keep shipping, keep listening, and keep pushing what’s possible for teams building great games.
'This year wouldn’t have been possible without the studios, players, partners, and our team who build alongside us every day. Bringing Pragma and Firstlook together, shipping quickly, and showing up for the community around the world all came from the same place: listening early and working closely with the people using our tools. We’re deeply grateful for the trust this community has placed in us, and we can’t wait to keep building what’s next!' - Eden Chen, CEO Pragma
In 2026, we’re doubling down on making FirstLook the place where studios run their entire player workflow. That means LLM-powered localization for flows, communications, and content so multilingual titles can scale without extra overhead; new ways to pay and reward creators through cash-based campaigns; deeper playtime and retention analytics; and better in-game tools for feedback, bug reporting, and account linking.
And this is just the start! Thanks for being part of the journey 💙
