With Two New Games for Zoom, Ellen’s Heads Up! and Ask Away, Playco is Leading the Future of Gaming and Connected Entertainment 

July 21, 2021 - Playco, the industry leading developer in instant gaming, has collaborated with Zoom Video Communications, Inc.  to bring exciting and innovative new gaming experiences to Zoom, further connecting people through play and enriching their experiences on the Zoom platform., Playco’s instant game technology, which enables seamless play without the need to download an app, will empower hundreds of millions of players to connect through social gaming. Playco has developed two game apps for Zoom: a new version of Ellen’s smash hit Heads Up! and an ice-breaker game titled Ask Away, both fully integrated as Zoom Apps and accessible directly from Zoom meetings.

Playco’s industry leading instant gaming technology powers high fidelity games playable without downloads, scalable to hundreds of millions of players on a myriad of social platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, LINE and now Zoom. Playco marries instant gaming technology with a keen understanding of a platform’s user base and content culture, helping create the future of connected entertainment through gaming. 

“We were thrilled at the opportunity to help Zoom bring instant gaming to their users and to be a part of what is surely the future of how people connect, play and immerse themselves with entertainment and content,” said Playco Co-Founder Justin Waldron. “We’re excited for gamers to have fun with Heads Up! and Ask Away and know this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how we can use instant gaming technology to evolve these platforms.”

“Zoom empowers people around the world to have conversations with live video capabilities, and Playco’s aspiration is to create games that can enhance those conversations and platforms, bringing people together through video and gaming in a unique way,” said Damon Pidhajecky, Studio Lead at Playco. 

"We're excited that Playco is bringing their gaming expertise to Zoom. Their pioneering instant gaming technology has made playing games alongside family, friends and coworkers seamless and fun," said Ross Mayfield, Product Lead, Zoom Apps & Integrations, Zoom.

Together with Ellen Digital, Playco has developed an innovative new version of the Ellen smash hit Heads Up!, the game where players guess the word on the screen based on clues called out by their teammates as time counts down. Utilizing their instant gaming technology and their understanding of what resonates with the Zoom user, Playco has reimagined Heads Up! to create a wholly new gaming experience that allows players to connect and have fun while using Zoom.

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Ask Away is an ice-breaker social game designed to help coworkers get to know one another in the minutes before meetings, and to help foster team morale and attendance. Fun for families, friends, and other groups as well, Ask Away puts one player in the hotseat to secretly answer a question about themselves. All other players guess what they think the player in the hot seat answered. Once all guesses are in, the answer is revealed.

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About Zoom Apps

In-product Zoom Apps enable a seamless experience for using your preferred apps within Zoom, before, during and after a meeting. Boost meeting productivity with apps for file sharing, project management, whiteboarding, and more. Zoom Apps inspire collaboration and foster engagement by enabling meeting participants to execute in real-time, and get more out of meetings.

About Playco

Playco is the world’s first instant gaming company, whose mission is to bring the world closer together through play. Playco partners with leading social and communications platforms to create innovative new experiences for players, including the global hit EverWing on Facebook, Snake Squad on Snap Games and the recently released Trip Royale on LINE Messenger, launched in partnership with soccer superstar Keisuke Honda and his educational non-profit, NowDo. Playco recently completed a $100 million Series A fundraise which was co-led by Josh Buckley and Sequoia Capital Global Equities and included Will Smith’s Dreamers VC. Playco has offices in Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and Seoul. Learn more at https://www.play.co/