Investing in Pantaloon: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

LootLocker exists to help publishers build direct, durable relationships with their players, cutting through marketplace noise, platform opacity, and the endless competition for player attention.

That belief has shaped everything we’ve built so far: from unified player accounts and player insights, to broadcasts, rewards, and cross-game ecosystems.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned working with publishers of all sizes, it’s this: Vision alone isn’t enough. Speed matters. Proof matters. Real-world constraints matter.

That’s why we’ve invested in Pantaloon (formal announcement).

Not because we want to become a publisher but because backing one gives us the ability to move faster, learn faster, and prove what modern publishing can look like when a direct-to-player strategy is implemented from the beginning.

In short: we’re putting our money where our mouth is to benefit our current and future customers.

Why Invest in a Publisher?

LootLocker is already deeply publisher-focused. We work with teams trying to connect players across games, across franchises, and across platforms. But building tools at arm's length from a publisher is fundamentally different from building them with intimite insights into live publishing operations.

By investing in a publisher, we gain:

• A real environment to test ideas end-to-end
• Faster feedback loops between product, publishing, and players
• The ability to validate what actually works, not just what sounds good in a deck

This isn’t about changing our focus, it’s about sharpening it to the benefit of all our partners.

Pantaloon gives us a way to pressure-test our thinking, stress-test our technology, and accelerate our roadmap in ways that takes our technology to new levels.

Why Pantaloon?

We've been following Pantaloon for a while now, and have been impressed with their progress. They're attempting to solve one of the hardest problems in publishing: attention.

Before signing games, before raising capital, and before even building a traditional publishing label, Pantaloon built a direct, value-driven relationship with players through its newsletter. Not as marketing garnish, but as the core of the business.

That spoke to us, deeply. Why? Because while much of the industry still relies on algorithms, storefront visibility, and rented audiences, Pantaloon took the opposite approach by building a trusted voice, earning attention directly, and turning curation into culture. This mindset aligns perfectly with how we believe publishing has to evolve.

Pantaloon's Platform

Pantaloon isn’t starting from zero. They’ve already grown a highly engaged newsletter audience, a clear editorial identity centered on bold, offbeat games, and Primo, a premium subscription that unlocks even more value for players.

And that’s not all. Pantaloon engages its playerbase with its Puzzletrunk and partnered ARGs, reinforcing its brand and commitment to value-driven engagement.

This isn’t theoretical fluff, it’s already live and in-motion. And that’s what led us to invest and partner with Pantaloon: the opportunity to scale something pre-existing.

LootLocker's Level-Up

The next step is using LootLocker to evolve Pantaloon’s foundation into a proper publishing platform, an engine that gives them a meaningful advantage when signing and publishing games.

Though LootLocker we'll be:

• Expanding the underlying technology that powers their direct-to-player efforts
• Converting the newsletter and Primo subscription into a connected platform, not isolated products
• Adding deeper player insights into their games to understand who the audience actually is, not just how large it is
• Powering Primo with richer engagement mechanics, entitlements, and rewards

The goal is simple, but ambitious: tightly connect the label, the games, and the players with a clear red thread running through it all.

Why This Matters Beyond Pantaloon

This investment isn’t about exclusivity. It’s not about building a bespoke solution for Pantaloon. And it’s definitely not about LootLocker becoming a publisher.

It’s about proving that direct player relationships can be the foundation of publishing, not just a channel. That technology can reduce risk without impeding creativity. And that publishers can build real player relationships without AAA budgets.

Ultimately, it’s about building a stronger LootLocker platform that benefits every customer.

Check it out Yourself

Curious to learn more about Pantaloon? Head over to their site, sign up for the newsletter, and get a steady stream of weird, bold, and wonderful games delivered directly to your inbox.