We are pleased to announce that Game8, Inc. (Game8) has adopted Authlete to implement OpenID Connect (OIDC) in the common identity (ID) infrastructure of the company’s services.
Game8 operates Game8, one of Japan’s largest comprehensive gaming content sites, boasting 500 million page views (PV) and 42 million unique users (UU) per month, which are among the highest in the country. The company also offers a variety of services, including Game8.co, the global version of Game8.jp, and Game8 Store, an e-commerce service that allows users to sell in-game items and game download keys within Game8.
Each of Game8’s services had implemented its own user authentication function independently. Since there was no unified authentication method, the login experience was complicated. In addition, with the launch of off-app payments for Game8 Store, seamless integration between the various services was required to promote the use of the payment method.
Therefore, the company began building a common ID infrastructure that could be used across all its services and decided to implement OIDC, an open standard specification, for integrating these services.
Game8 has chosen Authlete for its OIDC implementation. Authlete provides a backend service for processing OAuth/OIDC protocols and managing tokens, which are essential for setting up an OAuth authorization server and an OpenID provider.
Yoshihiro Ibayashi, CTO of Game8, explained the reasons for adopting Authlete:
“Initially, we considered in-house development for the OIDC implementation. While the high degree of freedom was appealing, we were concerned about security and future operational risks. Our top priority is to provide a reliable ID infrastructure that users can use with confidence. By leveraging Authlete, which has expertise in authentication and authorization, we were able to achieve both robustness and operational efficiency through an implementation based on expert know-how, while also improving development efficiency.”
Achieving high cost efficiency was also a key requirement in implementing OIDC.
“When we decided to build a common ID infrastructure, we didn’t consider Identity as a Service (IDaaS) from the beginning because it didn’t meet our requirements from the perspective of cost-effectiveness. In terms of cost-effectiveness, we decided that Authlete was the best option, as it only charges for the features we need and offers a billing model based on usage,” Ibayashi said.
Game8 launched its common ID infrastructure, Game8 ID, in October 2024, and gradually rolled out identity federation with each of its services. First, in the same month, the existing Game8.jp and game community platform login systems were integrated into Game8 ID. This enabled a smooth transition by allowing users to switch to Game8 ID while maintaining the same login methods as before (email address login, Google account login, etc.).
In April 2025, Game8 Store launched a full-scale off-app payment service. This enabled Game8 users to safely and seamlessly complete everything from viewing strategy guides to purchasing in-game items on a single site. Additionally, Game8 ID began supporting cross-app payments, further enhancing user convenience.
“Building on the common ID infrastructure, we aim to improve the user experience further and enhance our solutions for game publishers,” Ibayashi said.
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