Reward Economics

This page is for the PM or tech lead handling pre-integration setup. It covers the parameters that govern how your reward program works: how much players can earn, how fast they can withdraw, and how your reward currency maps to real-world value.

The parameters on this page apply to the in-game currency (Points) reward model. If you are rewarding in Bitcoin (sats), the core concepts are the same but amounts are denominated in MSATS. Contact your ZBD Customer Success Manager for Bitcoin-mode starting values.

Core parameters

Parameter	Recommended starting value	Notes
Reward budget	10% of cumulative player LTV	Covers all revenue (IAP + ads). Adjustable server-side at any time. In practice, players earn 30–50% of their total possible budget. Few players reach the ceiling.
New player baseline	10% of average LTV for that GEO	Players in days 0–7 have zero LTV. They still need a starting reward amount. Suggested range: $0.005–$0.01 per trigger.
Daily withdrawal limit	20% of average LTV for that GEO	Set a sensible value from day one (adjustable later). Caps your fraud exposure and creates a daily return habit (“come back tomorrow to earn more”).
Minimum withdrawal	$0.01	Minimum amount a player can withdraw in a single transaction.
Reward ceiling per trigger	$0.10	Maximum reward amount per single event. Caps exposure from any one gameplay moment.
Virtual currency exchange rate	$0.0001 per unit	Determines how granular your rewards feel. At this rate, 1,000 units = $0.10. See Soft Currency Model.

None of these values need to be perfect at launch — the reward budget, per-trigger ceiling, and daily withdrawal limit are all adjustable after launch without a client build. Still, give the daily withdrawal limit the most thought up front: it’s your most important fraud control, and lowering it later is visible to players who have grown used to the higher cap.

Reward delivery: client-side vs. server-side

You have two options for how rewards reach players.

Client-side (simple setup)

Call SendReward directly from the Unity client. No backend required. This is the fastest way to get started. The tradeoff: reward delivery is visible and potentially exploitable on the client. ZBD’s withdrawal limit system acts as the primary fraud layer. A player who abuses client-side sends can earn an unlimited balance, but they can only withdraw up to their current limit, which grows slowly. Use client-side delivery if you’re in early development or your reward amounts are low enough that client-side exposure is acceptable.

Server-side (recommended for production)

Your backend calls the ZBD Earn API to issue rewards. The client never touches the SendReward path. You can disable client-side sending entirely in the dashboard. Server-side delivery is required if you want to:

Tie reward amounts to actual player LTV (see LTV-Based Rewards)
Issue rewards based on IAP receipts or MMP revenue events
Eliminate client-side abuse entirely

Server-side calls authenticate with an Earn API key, which you create in the developer dashboard under Projects → your project → Earn → Controls. See Manage via Dashboard.Use the key from the Earn tab — it starts with sdk_live_. The key in the API tab is for the ZBD Payments API and will not work for Earn endpoints.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.zbdpay.com/api/v1/rewards/user/<rewardsUserId>/send \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <x-api-key>' \
  --data '{
    "amount": 1000,
    "currency": "POINT"
  }'

See Send Rewards (Server) for the full setup guide.

Withdrawal limits in depth

Every player has two values:

Rewards balance: what they’ve earned and not yet withdrawn. You add to this with SendReward.
Withdrawal limit: how much of that balance they can withdraw right now. It grows as they play, up to a capped daily allowance that resets every 24 hours.

The withdrawal limit accrues automatically from the SDK’s time-alive signal (a ping every ~20 seconds while the app is open). The accrual rate is set per country tier. A Tier 1 country (US, UK, DE) accrues faster than a Tier 2 country.

Increasing the withdrawal limit from your server

You can increase a player’s withdrawal limit at any time from your backend, for example when your MMP confirms a revenue event.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.zbdpay.com/api/v1/rewards/user/<rewardsUserId>/withdrawal-limit \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <x-api-key>' \
  --data '{
    "amount": 5000,
    "currency": "POINT"
  }'

If you use server-side reward delivery and send a large reward, you must also increase the withdrawal limit by a matching amount. Otherwise the reward sits in the player’s balance and they cannot withdraw it. The default time-based accrual rate is designed for small, gradual rewards; it is not sufficient for backend-driven reward events.

Checking a player’s current balance and limit

Before sending a reward, check the player’s current state to avoid over-rewarding:

curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.zbdpay.com/api/v2/rewards/users/<rewardsUserId>/balance \
  --header 'x-api-key: <x-api-key>'

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "rewardsBalance": 30000,
    "withdrawableLimit": 1000,
    "currency": "POINT"
  }
}

The withdrawableLimit field tells you how much of the balance can currently be withdrawn. If the limit is lower than the balance, the player has earned more than they can currently access.

In-game currency: exchange rate

This section applies to Points mode only. Bitcoin mode rewards are denominated in MSATS; no exchange rate configuration is required. The exchange rate you set determines how granular your rewards feel in the UI. At $0.0001 per unit:

Player earns	Displayed as	Real-world value
First trigger reward	~50–100 units	~$0.005–$0.01
Daily session	~500–2,000 units	~$0.05–$0.20
Monthly engagement	~10,000–30,000 units	~$1–$3

You define the name and appearance of the virtual currency unit. ZBD handles the conversion when the player withdraws. See Soft Currency Model for display guidelines.

Overview

Concepts

Setup

Sending Rewards

Balances & Limits

Developer Dashboard

Best Practices & Engagement

Go Live

API Reference

Core parameters

Reward delivery: client-side vs. server-side

Client-side (simple setup)

Server-side (recommended for production)

Withdrawal limits in depth

Increasing the withdrawal limit from your server

Checking a player’s current balance and limit

In-game currency: exchange rate

​Core parameters

​Reward delivery: client-side vs. server-side

​Client-side (simple setup)

​Server-side (recommended for production)

​Withdrawal limits in depth

​Increasing the withdrawal limit from your server

​Checking a player’s current balance and limit

​In-game currency: exchange rate

Core parameters

Reward delivery: client-side vs. server-side

Client-side (simple setup)

Server-side (recommended for production)

Withdrawal limits in depth

Increasing the withdrawal limit from your server

Checking a player’s current balance and limit

In-game currency: exchange rate