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Codemasters Online partners with Playspan
MUMBAI: Codemasters Online has revealed details of its new partnership with PlaySpan that offers monetisation solutions for online games, virtual worlds and social networks.
Players will be able to purchase Codemasters Online digital goods and services using more than 56 methods of payment.
The new partnership has gone live just in time for the launch of the latest digital expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood (due for release on 3 December).
UltimatePay (the combination PayByCash’s 10 years of payment services experience and Spare Change’s social network payment platform) offers many popular cash-based payment methods including CertaPay, CashU, Ecapay, hyperWallet, TravellersExpress, MobilCash, MoneyMail, Mister Cash, myCitadel and Wallie Card.
UltimatePay can be used to pre-order the Siege of Mirkwood digital upgrade as well as many other Codemasters Online products.
This partnership is one of many enhancements that Codemasters Online has made to improve the consumer billing and account experience in the last six months. This addition to the accounts system will facilitate a wide choice of easy payment methods for any customers unable to purchase with a credit card.
Says Codemasters Online VP GM David Solar, “I am delighted to launch this new scheme and think it is fantastic that we can now provide yet another route for users without credit cards and enjoy our games and services. We are working hard to constantly improve our customer experience and this is another step in that direction.”
Avers PlaySpan founder, CEO Karl Mehta, “PlaySpan is excited and proud to partner with Codemasters Online. We’re eager to introduce UltimatePay to its fans and enable more of them to experience Codemasters premium content.”
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
