Tag: esports

WinZO: Revolutionizing Social Gaming with Innovation and Growth

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

The Indian online gaming industry is flourishing with a wide variety of games that are letting young and old indulge in them. Among all other outdoor games including cricket, football, kabaddi, and basketball, India is also witnessing a rise in the popularity of several indoor games like ludo, pool, carrom, free fire, and more, which are also letting the gamers of India rewarded with real cash prizes among a list of other rewards.

The large youth population and the rapid penetration of the internet have made the country really witness a gaming revolution that includes fantasy sports and social gaming platforms over the past decade or so. To name one of the most popular gaming hubs in India is to talk about WinZO. The New Delhi-based social gaming platform is well-known for offering monetary benefits and prizes to players from around the country.

Founded by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore in 2018, WinZO has been ingeniously developed as a vernacular gaming platform to tap into the Indian audiences hailing from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities.

WinZO offers an array of popular games from PubG to cricket, rummy, and more, which make up an enviable collection of 100+ games that reward users online. Read about WinZO Games, Founders and Team, Business model, Revenue Model, Growth, Funding and Investors, Name, Tagline, Logo, Awards, Challenges, Future Plans, and more.

WinZO – Company Highlights

Startup Name	WinZO
Founders	Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore
Founded	2018
Headquarters	New Delhi, Delhi, India
Industry	ESports, Gaming
Website	www.winzogames.com

About WinZO and How it Works?
WinZO – Industry | Target Market Size
WinZO – Founders and team
WinZO – Startup Story | How was WinZO Started?
WinZO – Mission and Vision
WinZO – USP and Innovation
WinZO – Name, Tagline, and Logo
WinZO – Business Model and Revenue Model
WinZO Financials
WinZO – Startup Challenges
WinZO – Funding and Investors
WinZO – Acquisitions
WinZO – Advertisements and Campaigns
WinZO – Advisors and Mentors
WinZO – Recognition and Achievements
WinZO – Future Plans

About WinZO and How it Works?

WinZO is a microtransactions-powered vernacular entertainment platform, which has 100+ games served in 5 formats to users in 10+ regional languages. The diverse game offerings include hyper-casual games such as Candy Crush, Metro Surfer, Carrom, Chess, Ludo, and Pool to Mid-core flagship esports IPs like Free Fire.

WinZO is a member of the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and FICCI. It is also known as the proud sponsor of Patna Pirates, Gujarat Giants, and Bengal Warriors.

WinZO is built with the idea of emerging as the ‘Netflix of Gaming’- one platform with games to play with your friends. To boost the gaming infrastructure in the country, WinZO partners with individual, mid-size, and large global studios to bring a variety of games to its users on a single platform.

The social gaming startup also helps the developers improve their revenue by providing them with an alternative and a far more efficient model of monetization led by microtransactions rather than conventional in-app purchases and advertisements. The partner developers of WinZO have clocked 100 more revenues from their games on WinZO in India as compared to their distribution channels such as Google Play Store, Apple Store, etc.

In the short term, WinZO aspires to be the preferred platform of choice for both its stakeholders- gamers in Bharat (Tier 2 – Tier 5) and game developers. The company is always innovating and bringing products and features to empower its users and game developers.

Also, their decentralized language management portal has empowered housewives and college-going students by helping them earn up to Rs 30,000 per month, thereby letting them become financially independent. Here, they only needed to help localize their product and add languages, remotely from their homes. For game developers, WinZO has come up with the Developers’ consoles to facilitate their outreach to the company and become more entrepreneurial in game development in light of assured revenue streams of up to 100x.

In the long term, WinZO envisions serving as a one-stop platform for all mobile-first entertainment media in India and other developing markets driven by the power of communities and microtransactions.

The company is empowering all its stakeholders on multiple fronts. The primary problem that WinZO started to solve was the efficient monetization of games in developing economies where in-app purchases and advertisements do not work. Through their microtransaction model, where 200 million+ microtransactions are clocked per month, their partner studios have witnessed growth up to 100X in their revenues. Hence, the model definitely has proved to be effective.

WinZO Products/Services

WinZO is an off-Play Store app, which hosts 70+ casual to mid-core games in 5 formats and 10 Indian regional languages. The games range from rummy, pool, carrom, ludo, call break, bingo, chess, 29 card games, archery game, bubble shooter, and more.

Users here get the thrill of competition and instant gratification. It also ensures the personalization of content to serve users with relevant games based on their engagement patterns on the platform. The company is developing a community of gamers who can engage and compete with each other via features such as WinZO Versus.

To make outreach easier for the developers, they have also launched WinZO Developer Console where any developer can sign up and submit content for integration on the app. The console has garnered massive traction, with over 1,000 games being submitted from across the globe. It also provides real-time analytics related to the game for efficient monitoring of the performance and ensuring transparency. WinZO also offers WinZO store, which brings gaming coupons, Gaana coupons, Nykaa coupons, and more.

WinZO – Industry | Target Market Size

WinZO is in the Indian online gaming industry, which was projected to reach a market size of $60 billion by 2034 in a 2025 report by WinZO and IEIC. WinZO targets a user base of over 250 million registered users in India, with a focus on the “Tier 2-Tier 5” audience in smaller towns and rural areas, alongside its recent expansion into the US and other international markets. The company relied mainly on the Tier 2 cities and beyond to achieve the estimated growth.

This is because when the company scrutinized the market, they were surprised to discover that around 80% of active gamers in India are from non-metro locations. Yes, it was found out that somewhere between 40% and 60% of the overall gamer population of India are from Tier II towns and beyond. All of this helped WinZO scale fast and grow large enough to be one of the most popular gaming companies of today. The company targets the small cities of India, where the gamers’ ages range between 18 and 35 years.

WinZO – Founders and team

WinZO was co-founded by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore.

Paavan Nanda

Paavan is an engineer from NSIT, who later went to IIM-Calcutta and to the Copenhagen Business School. He worked with Bain & Company, Abbott Labs, and Merrill Lynch before co-founding Zostel Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., which emerged with ZO Rooms, an affordable and technology-driven hostel chain. However, ZO Rooms, after a failed merger with OYO, shut down, but it failed to put a halt to the rising entrepreneurial instinct of Nanda, who then co-founded WinZO with Saumya Singh Rathore in 2018.

Saumya Singh Rathore

Saumya is the co-founder of the vernacular social gaming platform, WinZO. She has a Master’s in Psychology from The University of Manchester and eventually obtained a degree in Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. Saumya had already worked with Paavan Nanda in Zo Rooms before the duo decided to found WinZO.

WinZO, currently, is a tight-knit team of around 40 young, enthusiastic, passionate, and talented people who believe in the company’s vision and hustle together to work on the most advanced cutting-edge technologies and provide the best value to the users. When the team closed its Series A and had 5 Million+ users, it was only a 9-member team.

The work culture at WinZO is as vibrant, customer-focused, and fun as it might be imagined in a gaming venture. The team works hard at exemplary execution speed to push great new exciting features for the users and each small achievement is appreciated and celebrated. Weekly office parties and milestone celebrations also bring extra motivation and energy to the team.

“We at WinZO believe that hiring right is more effective than hiring fast – peer interviews is how you get on with the mission. It is always a great support to have a team which is self-motivated, target driven, accountable and committed to the vision. Hence, we hire the best talent with the right value alignment with the company’s core values.”, said Paavan Nanda, co-founder of WinZO.

Most of our relatively new colleagues have joined us through the recommendations from their friends already working with us as they wanted to be a part of our journey to build the Netflix of Gaming and solve some of the most challenging tech problems of the country – Saumya Singh Rathore, co-founder of WinZO.

WinZO – Startup Story | How was WinZO Started?

WinZO was conceptualized after studying the revolution that affordable smartphones and Reliance Jio had created in India in 2015-16, by providing users from even the remotest corners of the country, with powerful devices and affordable high-speed internet connections. Thanks to this revolution, India became the global leader in in-game downloads.

However, there was clearly a problem of efficient monetization for games in high-potential developing markets that needed to be solved. This marked the journey of WinZO. To validate the concept, WinZO was launched as a subscription-based trivia app to monitor the user acceptance of the model.

Based on the encouraging results of this POC, they launched a micro-transaction powered vernacular hyper-casual gaming platform where users pay small sums of INR 2 – INR 25 to participate in real-time multiplayer games and win prizes from the pool of rewards set aside for them. This model had the elements of regional language, real-time competition, and affordability in consuming content yet paying for it. Together, these made WinZO an instant hit among the users of vernacular Bharat.

WinZO – Mission and Vision

WinZO focuses on competitive multiplayer gaming experiences and is charged with the mission to create a culturally relevant mobile games platform with a broad rate of adoption.

WinZO aims to lead the Indian online gaming ecosystem with an expansive influencer network that is capable of catering to 50+ million registered users of the platform.

WinZO – USP and Innovation

WinZO’s USP has always been its innovative and inclusive approach to solving real-life problems. While the intuitive approach for any gaming company would be to tap the easier metro and tier-1 audience first, WinZO saw and successfully tapped the potential of the real Bharat (Tier 2-Tier 5 towns, rural India) through its deep-down distribution strategy.

To facilitate this, they offer the support of 10+ regional Indian languages on the app. Their vision is to democratize entrepreneurship: They have decentralized language management through their portal to engage women who work from home to get a truly vernacular experience for players in Bharat.

For game developers, WinZO has helped them become more entrepreneurial in game development in light of assured and sustainable revenue streams. As many developers aren’t aware of the intricacies of this complex market, their 80% paying active user base ensures that the games are generating revenue from day 1 at no user acquisition expenses for the developers.

WinZO – Name, Tagline, and Logo

The team took ‘ZO’ from their previous venture ZO Rooms/Zostel. ZO stands for speed & energy – so it’s winning fast! Plus, when they Googled the word, they didn’t find anything, so that solved the SEO hassles with no money spent!

WinZO Logo

WinZO – Business Model and Revenue Model

As per App Annie 2018 Gaming Report, India stood highest in terms of Game downloads – at the same time in the bottom 10 for in-app purchases. The problem that WinZO is addressing is fairly simple: Bharat is in love with Gaming, but the Quality Studios/Independent developers do not see much potential in Bharat.

The WinZO Business Model is simple – Build the Gaming Ecosystem in Bharat. It aims to do that in three ways:

Provide a one-stop Game Developer Console to the Gaming Studios – where it can publish the games and earn revenues out of it.
Charge platform commission fees from all the games and share the revenue with the Game Developers via its Console.
Offer employment opportunities to students and housewives across Bharat to provide content for quizzes via its indigenous portal.

WinZO Financials

WinZO Financials	2024	2023
Operating Revenue	INR 1055 crore	INR 674 crore
Total Expenses	INR 693 crore	INR 564 crore
Profit/Loss	INR 315 crore	INR 126 crore

WinZO – Startup Challenges

The most challenging part that WinZO faced was generating the feeling of trust in the minds of the users, who were seated in the remote areas of Bharat.

“What has worked well for us is – the entire product was on beta for at least six months and we were on stealth mode. We generated lots of insights around how to build trust and the product is designed for the users of Bharat who are from tier 2/3/4 towns. We also decided to be vernacular and be transparent to our users so that it’s easy for them to build trust on the platform.”, said Paavan Nanda.

As a result, they are now available in around 12 Regional Languages and nearly 90% of their audience is from the tier 2/3/4 towns of Bharat.

A significant other challenge is profitability, which the company is yet to gain, as reported last in FY20.

WinZO Copyright Infringement

WinZO has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against gaming giant Mobile Premier League (MPL) because it thinks that the latter has copied its gaming format “World War”. World War is a game launched by WinZO in April 2020, which currently boasts around 80 million registered users. As far as reports, WinZO has already applied for a patent for the invention and copyright registration with regards to the expression of the format and trademark of World War.

It all started when WinZO discovered that MPL has allegedly copied the format and the name of the game. However, it took down the format from its platform as soon as it was informed of the same but the latter again started with “Team Clash”, which allegedly used the same format that was identical to “World War”. Besides, the notifications/popups and more that were sent to the users were also similar. Following the discovery of this new game, WinZO has already sent a legal notice to MPL, who doesn’t want to take down the format this time, as of June 4th 2022 reports.

WinZO – Funding and Investors

The company raised its seed money, an undisclosed amount from K-Start. WinZO has also set up a fund of $1.5 Million to support Game Developers in India. On July 2, 2021, WinZO announced raising an amount of $65 million on a Series C funding round led by California-based Griffin Gaming Partners. The company has raised a total of $110.5 million in its fundraising to date.

Here is the list of WinZO funding rounds:

Date	Stage	Amount	Investor
July 2, 2021	Series C	$65 million	Griffin Gaming Partners
May 3, 2021	Series B	$13 Million	–
April 9, 2021	Debt Financing	$9.5 Million	–
September 3, 2020	Series B	$18 Million	Courtside Ventures, Makers Fund
April 17, 2020	Seed Round	–	–
February 22, 2019	Series A	$5 Million	Hike, Kalaari Capital

WinZO – Acquisitions

WinZO acquired Upskillz Games in its maiden acquisition on June 21, 2022. The deal was an all-cash deal with which a majority stake in Upskillz was acquired by WinZO. Mannit Sidhu founded Upskillz Games in December 2020, which already boasts of having a month-on-month (MoM) growth rate of 75% since it started. Besides, it also had a captive user base of 1.3 mn users, along with blockchain and Web3 offerings, all of which will be added by WinZO now.

Company Name	Date	Deal Value
Upskillz Games	June 21, 2022	–

WinZO – Advertisements and Campaigns

MS Dhoni – Brand Ambassador of WinZO

In 2022, WinZO brought on MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador. Since then, the legendary cricketer has appeared in several of the brand’s ads. According to the company, having MS Dhoni as the face of the brand will boost awareness and engagement within India’s social gaming community, helping to establish social and interactive gaming. Paavan Nanda, co-founder of WinZO, said, “With MS Dhoni, we aim to bring social gaming to people across all ages and genders in this country.”

WinZO has partnered with popular YouTuber Ajey Nagar, commonly referred to as CarryMinati, to serve as its brand ambassador on January 19, 2022. After CarryMinati, WinZO trumps by choosing “BB ki vines” feat, Filmfare recipient digital sensation Bhuvan Bam as its brand ambassador, as the company PR goes dated February 15, 2022. The Vernacular Online Gaming Giant announced that this collaboration with BB will help the company create culturally relevant content that would be relatable even for the persons belonging to the remoter sections of the country.

The Indian content creator from Faridabad, who boasts of having over 34 million subscribers will now be coming up with interesting game-related content that will unique, engaging, and relatable on his streaming channel ‘Carryislive’. Furthermore, he also signed up for another solo integration on his major YouTube channel ‘CarryMinati‘ as part of this relationship. Here’s what WinZO Co-founder Saumya Singh Rathore remarked on this development,

“We are thrilled to have him on board. We collectively hope to further our vision of promoting the spirit of winning and culturally relevant content across Bharat.”

The New Delhi-based interactive social gaming company declared that it will be the official sports brand partner of the Ranveer Singh film ’83’ in December 2021.

India’s largest social gaming and entertainment platform has partnered with the Ogilvy Chairman of Global Creative and Executive Chairman Piyush Pandey to launch its multilingual brand campaign to deliver ‘winning moments’ through a relatable social platform in December 2021.

The campaign that was launched with the tagline and hashtag “Jeetne mein Kick hai” by Leo Burnett Orchard has won a creative mandate for the same, as per reports dated December 2020.

WinZO – Advisors and Mentors

Kalaari is not only an investor but a great partner who is guiding the company all along the way as they are building this for Bharat. It is very important to note that WinZO is Kalaari’s second-largest bet in gaming, second only to Dream11. The team gets to learn a lot from how Harsh managed to build a profitable venture in the Indian Startup ecosystem.

WinZO is fortunate to have had Revant Bhate & Rahul Garg come in very early to push them to build this product with a sharp focus on unit economics. A fund like Kalaari has vast exposure to what works and what doesn’t in the long term. This early understanding would help them to build sustainably.

“We also have received a huge support from Kavin Bharti Mittal who has also backed the venture. Kavin is one of the finest product experts and his insights are always critical in building WinZO as the entertainment destination for Bharat. He has tremendous experience in building and distributing Hike – a home grown tech unicorn.”, said Pavaan Nanda.

WinZO – Recognition and Achievements

WinZO received the following awards and recognitions in the past couple of years since they started their journey:

Startup of the Year – Technology by Entrepreneur India in 2019.
Inc42 Startup Watchlist: Indian Media & Entertainment Startups To Watch Out For In 2020.
SutraHR – “100” Top Startups in India in 2020.
Businessworld Techtors 2020.

WinZO – Future Plans

Digital entertainment platform WinZO has announced its official launch in the US, expanding its international footprint.

“The launch of WinZO in the US is a proud milestone for us and for India’s digital entertainment ecosystem. Our vision has always been to empower Indian game developers to reach global audiences. Entering the US, the world’s largest and most influential gaming market, is a decisive step towards that mission,” said Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda, cofounders of WinZO.

The company also announced the launch of ZO TV, a short-video platform. “This further diversifies our content offerings and strengthens WinZO’s position as a global hub and one-stop destination for interactive entertainment,” Rathore added. WinZO’s expansion into the US is a critical part of its strategy to become the global go-to consumer technology platform for all new-age content consumption, the company said. After diversifying its formats and monetisation strategies, WinZO is now leapfrogging into geographical expansion.

FAQs

What is WinZO?

WinZO can be described as one of India’s largest social gaming and entertainment platform that was launched in 2018. WinZO offers its platform to third-party game developers who can host their games and earn up to 100X in revenue.

Is WinZO a Chinese app?

No, WinZO App is an Indian App headquartered in New Delhi, India.

What is WinZO launch date?

WinZO was launched in 2018.

Is WinZO App legal?

Yes, WinZO was founded in 2018 and is a 100% legal and genuine gaming platform that operates in most of the states in India. It is in fact counted to be one of India’s best gaming apps in the social category.

Who is the owner of WinZO?

Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore are the Founders of WinZO.

Who is the CEO of WinZO?

Paavan Nanda is the Co-founder and CEO of WinZO.

How does WinZO make money?

WinZO makes money through in-app purchases, advertising, and partnerships with game developers and brands. Players spend money on virtual goods, while ads and brand collaborations generate additional revenue.

Is WinZO app safe?

Yes, the WinZO app is generally considered safe. The platform collaborates with the security community to ensure its services and data are protected. However, as with any app, it’s important to download it from trusted sources like Google Play or the App Store and follow security best practices.

Is WinZO gold real or fake?

WinZO is certified for Real Money Gaming, meaning it meets strict regulatory standards for financial transactions. This certification guarantees that all monetary activities on the platform, such as deposits and withdrawals, are secure and transparent.

August 28, 2025

Karnataka Aims to Rise to the Top of India’s Esports Scene: Kharge

Karnataka IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge is determined to establish Karnataka as a major esports hub as the southern state seeks to capitalise on the growing popularity of the industry nationwide. In his remarks at the Bengaluru GAFX 2025 conference on February 27, Kharge stated that the state government hopes to conduct its own National Esports Festival this year. He added that he plans to host the largest esports festival in the country and possibly Asia for our gaming community. He did not, however, provide any more information. Now in its sixth edition, the conference is hosted by the Karnataka government’s Department of Electronics, Information Technology, and Biotechnology in partnership with the nonprofit ABAI. Over 20,000 people are anticipated to attend Bengaluru GAFX 2025, which is aimed at the rapidly expanding animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, and extended reality (AVGC-XR) business. It is a three-day event from 27 February to 1 March. The top four esport teams in the nation from various regions are competing for the Counter-Strike 2 title in the conference’s final tournament for an esports national championship. The market research firm IMARC Group projects that the Indian esports industry would reach $919 million by 2033, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.42% between 2025 and 2033.

Investor Connect Initiative- Part of GAFX 2025

According to Kharge, Bengaluru GAFX 2025 is also holding an investor connect program, where 50 AVGC-XR firms are interacting with more than 25 top investors who are providing finance and mentorship opportunities. Karnataka is taking these steps in an attempt to take the lead in this field, but other states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Kerala are becoming more and more competitive. Additionally, Kharge wants the state to play a significant role in India’s aspirations to dominate the world in this field. “In addition to contributing to international projects, our professionals are spearheading them by bringing their distinct viewpoints and unparalleled experience to the fore,” he said. Indian artists play a key role in providing innovative visuals for both local and foreign films in the fields of animation and visual effects. “Our efforts have received praise from all over the world, establishing India as a centre for top-notch VFX and animation services,” he added.

How State’s AVGC-XR Policy can Benefit Karnataka

In order to promote international cooperation in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR), the Karnataka government is also forming a Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) that will bring together France, Australia, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Uzbekistan, and Italy. An investment of INR 150 crore was set aside by the Karnataka government last year for its updated AVGC-XR policy for 2024–2029. The state administration hopes to create 50,000 jobs over the following three to four years with the strategy, which was initially announced in November 2023 and started in January 2024. By turning the state into a hub for AVGC-related capabilities, the government hopes to develop a talent pool and guarantee that exports account for at least 80% of the industry’s overall earnings. It is anticipated that the gaming industry will turn to the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for innovation, research, and development.

During her remarks at the event, Dr. Ekroop Caur, Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT, Bt, Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, stated that an AVGC-XR Park is also being developed. It would provide research facilities, production studios, and incubation spaces. According to Caur, Karnataka is home to more than 15,000 experts and more than 300 AVGC studios. With 500 million players in India, Karnataka has the most gaming startups, making Bengaluru the centre for next-generation game development. The first of its type in India, Karnataka’s AVGC-XR fund provides up to INR 2 crore in investment support for startups and SMEs.

February 28, 2025

MPL- How is it Dominating the E-Sports Space in India?

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organisations.

As per a KPMG report published in 2019, over 300 million people in India play online games. Though online real-money gaming entered India just a decade ago, it has become quite popular among the Indians the primary reason being that the players can earn money and rewards while playing games. There are over 100 companies operating in the real-money gaming sector in India, and one of the most popular platforms for real-money gaming is MPL (Mobile Premier League). Founded in 2018, MPL is India’s largest mobile e-sports platform. Sai Srinivas Kiran G and Shubham Malhotra founded MPL.

MPL was last valued at $2.45 billion and is hailed as the 26th unicorn startup of 2021, and the second Indian unicorn online gaming startup to cross the 1 billion dollar mark, as of October 2021.

This post takes a deep dive into MPL’s success story, founders, history, business model, valuation, revenue, funding, founders, competitors, growth, logo, and much more.

MPL Company Highlights

Startup Name	Mobile Premier League (MPL)
Headquarters	Bengaluru
Founders	Sai Srinivas Kiran G and Shubham Malhotra
Sector	E-Sports and Gaming
Founded	2018
Parent Organization	Galactus Funware Technology Private Limited
Valuation	$2.19 billion (as of December 2024)
Website	mpl.live

About MPL
MPL – Industry
MPL – Founders/Owners and Team
MPL – Name, Tagline, and Logo
MPL – Business and Revenue Model
MPL – Growth and Revenue
MPL – Financials
MPL – Partnerships
MPL – Funding and Investors
MPL – Shareholders
MPL – Acquisitions
MPL – Investments
MPL – ESOPs
MPL – Awards and Recognitions
MPL – LayOffs
MPL – Challenges
MPL – Competitors
MPL – Future Plans

About MPL

Mobile Premier League, or MPL, is an online gaming platform based out of Bengaluru, India. Sai Srinivas Kiran G and Shubham Malhotra are the founders of the company. MPL provides an abundant pool of games such as chess, quiz, fantasy sports, free fire, rummy, 8 ball 3D pool, carrom, ludo, and more. The Mobile Premier League games are distributed into categories like fantasy sports, card games, puzzle games, arcade games, action games, and more

The company renders real cash rewards to those who win in these online games. With various offers that float on the platform and 24/7 support from the MPL team, mobile game lovers are inclined towards MPL. Mobile Premier League also provides the option of connecting with friends and offers a bonus for referring others to play on MPL. The Indian e-gaming platform has more than 60 online games, which can be accessed via its mobile application that is compatible with both Android and iOS phones.

Founded in September 2018, MPL company has seen rapid growth and is currently serving over 90 million users in India.

MPL – Industry

The market of online fantasy games in India is expanding tremendously – over 100 million users in India joined numerous fantasy gaming platforms in 2020 alone. These online fantasy gaming platforms like MPL have been currently engaging 14% of all smartphone users in the country. The revenues from online gaming in India jumped 3X in a year and were last recorded at INR 16,428 crore in 2023.

The fantasy sports market in India is expected to grow at a rate of 20.88% from FY2024 to FY2031. It is projected to increase from USD 751 million in FY2023 to USD 3423.54 million by FY2031. The market has been growing fast in recent years and is expected to continue expanding strongly. Needless to say, MPL also has a huge opportunity in this market in the upcoming years in India.

Galactus Funware Technology Private Limited is the parent company of MPL. Galactus Funware Technology Private Limited is a private company incorporated on May 22, 2018. It is classified as a ‘subsidiary of the foreign company’ and is registered at the Registrar of Companies, Bangalore. Galactus Funware Technology offers a wide range of game applications, tournaments, cash rewards, and other related services.

Galactus Funware Technology Private Limited is currently focusing on Mobile Premier League, which is currently operating as a digital gaming platform.

MPL – Founders/Owners and Team

MPL was founded by Sai Srinivas Kiran G and Shubham Malhotra in September 2018.

Shubham Malhotra and Sai Srinivas Kiran (Founders of MPL)

Prior to MPL, Sai and Shubham co-founded CREO (a technology company) in 2014. CREO was acquired by Hike Messenger in 2017.

Sai Srinivas Kiran G (Co-Founder and CEO)

MPL CEO Sai Srinivas did his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur in Aeronautical Engineering. Soon after completing his graduation, he started working at a gaming firm, Zynga, where he was an Associate Product Manager. He then joined BSB – Bharti Softbank as the Director of Product, leaving which, he co-founded CREO Tech, where he was also appointed as the CEO. However, CREO was soon acquired by Hike Messenger, where he later served as the Head of Total. Srinivas then decided to venture into the mobile e-sports sector, when he co-founded MPL. Sai also co-founded Base9, a company that organized and promoted live events across India in 2009.

Shubham Malhotra (Co-Founder)

MPL co-founder Shubham Malhotra did his BE in Electronics and Instrumentation from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science(BITS), Pilani. He initially worked as the Co-founder and CTO of Capillary Technologies, a technology service provider, before moving on to co-found CREO, where he again served as the Co-founder and CTO. He continued to stay with Hike Messenger as the Head of Engineering at Total by Hike even after it acquired CREO. Shubham then decided to found MPL with his CREO co-founder, Sai Srinivas.

MPL amended its reward policy for employees and made it a reward for teams. This all-new reward system for teams, which it has introduced, will reward teams for their performance and targets achieved instead of rewarding employees, as per June 20, 2022. In terms of its employee salaries, MPL has merged the fixed and variable components of their salaries.

MPL – Name, Tagline, and Logo

The name ‘Mobile Premier League’ depicts the finest collection of games that can be accessed through mobile phones. The tagline of MPL was initially ‘Play.Compete.Win’. MPL now uses ‘Game Khelo Hero Bano’ as its tagline.

MPL Logo

MPL – Business and Revenue Model

MPL’s business model revolves around the app that it offers its users. There are several ways in which MPL makes money. It collects an entry fee from the players whenever they want to participate in any game. When the company holds tournaments, it receives 20% of the total money raised from the participating players as a hosting fee. MPL’s gaming apps also make money through advertisements and in-app purchases. MPL’s business model has aided in its success.

“We already have multiple different forms of monetization that we are looking at, and are working for us. However, we are looking at one of these becoming a long-term source of monetization, while keeping the high level of engagement,” says Sai Srinivas Kiran, Co-founder of MPL, commenting on the monetization plans of the company.

MPL – Growth and Revenue

MPL boasts of having more than 90 million users in India alone and 60+ games. The company is a member of AIGF (All India Gaming Federation), FICCI, IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India), and TRF (The Rummy Federation).

Some other growth highlights of MPL are as follows:

MPL signed up as the ‘official sponsor’ for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on August 26, 2020.
In March 2019, Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became MPL’s brand ambassador.
MPL is currently trusted by 9 Crore+ Indians

Mayhem Studios

Mayhem Studios is launched by MPL in May 2022 to develop ‘AAA’ mobile games for domestic and global markets. ESports along with MPL launched this gaming studio, which revealed its first gaming title called “Underworld Gang Wars”.

MPL – Financials

MPL Financials	FY23	FY24
Total Operating Revenue	INR 873.7 cr	INR 1,068 cr
Total Expenses	INR 1,365.7 cr	INR 1,393.2 cr
Profit/Loss	Loss of INR 309.3 cr	Loss of INR 374.9 cr

Operating revenue for MPL India surged 22.2% to INR 1,068 crore in FY24 from INR 873.7 crore in FY23. The business backed by Peak XV Partners increased its total expenses by 2% to INR 1,393.2 crore. Their losses all saw an increase from INR 309.3 crore in FY23 to INR 374.9 crore in FY24.

MPL – Partnerships

Here is a list of the prominent MPL partnerships:

Mobile Premier League, a leading eSports and gaming platform, has partnered with GameDuell to expand its presence in global markets.
MPL partnered with the hyper-casual developers and publishers, Voodoo to launch Helix Jump and Color Road
The company partnered with Prime Focus Technologies for content creation
MPL has already partnered with BCCI as the kit sponsor and official merchandise partner
MPL has partnered with the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) as the sponsor of the Indian team
MPL has collaborated with established as well as independent game developers from across India

MPL – Funding and Investors

MPL’s total funding stands at $375.5 million. The last round that the company raised was the Series E funding round worth $150 mn, dated September 15, 2021, and was led by Legatum.

In the Series D round held in February 2021, MPL raised funding of $95 million. The round was led by Composite Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures and funding participation was also seen from Base Partners, RTP Global, SIG, Go-Ventures, Telstra Ventures, Founders circle and Play Ventures. The round before that was the Series C round held on September 21, 2020, where MPL raised $90 million from SIG, RTP Global, MDI Ventures, and Pegasus Tech Ventures. MPL’s existing investors, Sequoia Capital India, Go-Ventures, and Base Partners also participated in the round.

The company’s valuation stands at $2.19 billion, as of December 2024.

Date	Stage	Amount	Lead Investors
September 15, 2021	Series E	$150 million	Legatum
February 4, 2021	Series D	$95 million	Composite Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures, RTP Global, SIG, Go-Ventures, Telstra Ventures, Founders circle and Play Ventures
September 21, 2020	Series C	$90 million	SIG, RTP Global, MDI Ventures, Pegasus Tech Ventures
April 24, 2019	Series A	$35.5 million	Sequoia Capital India, BEENEXT, RTP Global, Venture Highway, Times Internet
November 8, 2018	Seed Round	$5 million	Sequoia Capital

MPL – Shareholders

MPL shareholding as of August 2023 (source: Tracxn):

MPL Shareholders	Percentage
Sai Srinivas Kiran Garimella	11.6%
Base Partners	2.3%
Sequoia Capital	21.7%
SIG	10.5%
VGames	7.2%
MDI Ventures	3.7%
RTP Global	3.3%
Gojek	1.6%
Angel	11.7%
ESOP Pool	11.2%
Others	15.2%

MPL – Acquisitions

MPL has acquired 3 companies to date. GameDuell, the German Game Studio, was the last company acquired by MPL on February 28, 2022. This acquisition will help MPL, one of the most renowned esports and skill gaming platforms, to extend its operations across international markets. MPL is currently present in Europe, Asia, and North America. Here the partnership with GameDuell, the Berlin-based game studio that is the global pioneer in community card and board games, will help MPL get extensive experience in developing multiplayer games like action arcade, board, and puzzle games.

Mobile Premier League previously acquired GamingMonk and Crevise Technologies.

Companies Acquired	Date	Deal Value
GameDuell	February 28, 2022	–
GamingMonk	April 20, 2021	–
Crevise Technologies	May 8, 2019	–

MPL – Investments

MPL has invested in 1 company to date, which goes by the name IndiGG.

Date	Company	Funding Round	Deal Value	Lead Investor
January 19, 2022	IndiGG	Seed Round	$6 mn	–

MPL – ESOPs

MPL announced an ESOP buyback plan in September 2020, which was worth $3.2 mn for its employees, during the Series C round of funding. The company raised $500,000 from its existing employees in January 2021 under its Employee Investment Plan, where 10% of the MPL employees reportedly participated.

MPL made a few changes to its ESOP as well as its employee pay structure, as reported on June 20, 2022. In its ESOP part, MPL has reduced its ESOP vesting period, from a few years to some months. The company further mentioned that previously its employees were granted ESOPs at the end of a cliff period, which was after the completion of a year. At the conclusion of this cliff period, the employees of MPL got the first batch of ESOPs, and it was only in the next year that the company granted them the next batch of ESOPs. This policy was amended and made into one such structure where the employees can vest ESOPs immediately. Also, the updated ESOP policy of MPL has widened the period of availing ESOPs for employees who are exiting the company. While the previous policy allowed the parting employees to avail of their ESOPs for 30 days, now MPL will allow them an allowance of 10 years time from the vesting date.

MPL – Awards and Recognitions

Some of the major awards and recognitions received by MPL to date are:

MPL was recognized as the ‘Best Fantasy Sports Operator’ in the year 2019 by the India Gaming Awards.
The company replaced Nike to become the official kit sponsor and the merchandise partner of both the national men’s and women’s sides as well as the U-19 team, as announced by the BCCI (the Board of Control for Cricket in India)
MPL won the India CSR Leadership Award in 2021
Mobile Premier League is known as India’s second gaming unicorn
With over 60 games, Mobile Premier League (MPL) is currently India’s largest eSports and mobile gaming platform

MPL – LayOffs

MPL laid off around 100 employees on May 30, 2022. This way the company parted with 10% of its workforce. The number of people impacted can also be higher, as per the reports from sources on request for anonymity. However, it is also known that the employees affected by this layoff will receive complete severance along with other benefits.

Besides, the employees who held ESOPs in the company will also have an option to hold on to their ESOPs for the upcoming decade. Numerous Indian late-stage startups from various industries have already laid off their employees, like Meesho, CarDekho, Ola, Unacademy, mFine, Vedantu, etc., but the challenges that the Indian startups are facing become prominent when real gaming startups like MPL also had to lay off their employees. FrontRow, on the same day, laid off 30% of its workforce.

Though many startups like the ones mentioned above have performed their own layoffs, the gaming industry surely had better money-making luck. It is important to note that two of the top ten profitable companies among the unicorn companies of India that have successfully kept their valuations intact in the past few weeks are Games 24×7 and Dream11.

MPL (Mobile Premier League), following the decision by the GST Council to maintain a 28% tax on online real-money games, has taken the unfortunate step of laying off 350 employees in August 2023.

“Last week, it was confirmed that a 28% GST will be levied on the full deposit value rather than on Gross Gaming Revenue. The new rules will increase our tax burden by as much as 350-400%. As a business, we can prepare for a 50% or even 100%increase, but adjusting to a sudden increase of this magnitude means we need to make some very tough decisions,” In an email addressed to the company’s employees, Srinivas, the founder and CEO of MPL, conveyed his message.

MPL – Challenges

Throughout the years since its launch, MPL has undergone numerous challenges. Establishing itself in the competitive industry of online and fantasy gaming is an unbelievable feat in itself, and it challenges the company continually.

Rollbacks

Along with announcing the 10% workforce layoff, MPL has also announced the rollback of its Indonesia operations. MPL has also stated that it will be doing away with the streaming product on its MPL app.

Karnataka banned MPL and other Online Fantasy Games

Mobile Premier League, Paytm First Games, and RummyCircle-like mobile gaming platforms that deal with real money had to suspend their services in Karnataka following the enactment of the state legislation that prohibited money wagering and betting in online games on October 5, 2021.

Apps like MPL and others were previously ruled as “games of skill” by one too many courts of India. However, this law, which is declared as a part of an amendment of the Karnataka Police Act, was enacted to ban all forms of online gambling and betting platforms. The offenders of the law, as announced on Tuesday, will henceforth be subjected to a maximum imprisonment of 3 years or a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.

Soon after the law came into effect, MPL’s services were suspended in Karnataka on Wednesday, where the users of MPL are now greeted with the message, “Sorry! The law in your state does not permit you to play Fantasy sports” if they open the app. Though RummyCircle and Nazara’s HalaPlay had also updated their respective messages to inform their users regarding the ban of their services in the state, Dream11 still ran smoothly on October 6th, and it is still unclear whether they too have suspended their services.

MPL – Competitors

Dream11
Cricnwin
LXG
NODWIN Gaming
FanFight

Mobile Premier League Following the decision by the GST Council to maintain a 28% tax on online real-money games, the company has taken the unfortunate step of laying off 350 employees in August 2023.

Srinivas explained that the firm’s major variable costs encompass people, servers, and office infrastructure. He emphasised that in order to ensure survival and maintain business viability, it is imperative to reduce these expenditures.

“Last week, it was confirmed that a 28% GST will be levied on the full deposit value rather than on Gross Gaming Revenue. The new rules will increase our tax burden by as much as 350-400%. As a business, we can prepare for a 50% or even 100% increase, but adjusting to a sudden increase of this magnitude means we need to make some very tough decisions,” In an email addressed to the company’s employees, Srinivas, the founder and CEO of MPL, conveyed his message.

MPL – Future Plans

MPL plans to grow by attracting more users and expanding into new markets. They will add more popular games to attract a wider audience and improve the platform to make it easier to use and more fun to play. They want to build a strong gaming community where players can learn and compete. To go global, they plan to enter new markets and partner with local organizers for events. MPL will also work with game developers to improve the platform and collaborate with sponsors to grow the business. They will invest in research to create new gaming experiences and stay updated with gaming trends.

FAQs

Who is MPL founder?

Galactus Funware Technology Pvt Ltd. is the parent company of MPL. MPL was co-founded by Sai Srinivas Kiran and Shubham Malhotra.

Who is the CEO of MPL?

Sai Srinivas Kiran G is the co-founder and CEO of MPL.

MPL is which country’s app?

Mobile Premier League (also known as MPL) is a mobile e-sports platform based in India. The unicorn startup is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka.

What is MPL business model?

MPL’s business model is based on real-money gaming, where users pay entry fees to participate in tournaments. It earns through in-app purchases, ads, and partnerships with game developers and sponsors.

How does MPL make money?

MPL makes money through entry fees for tournaments, in-app purchases, ads, and partnerships with game developers and sponsors.

Who is MPL Parent Company?

Galactus Funware Technology Pvt. Ltd. is a private company incorporated on 22 May 2018. It is classified as a ‘subsidiary of foreign company’ and is registered at the Registrar of Companies, Bangalore.

When was the Mobile Premier League founded?

The Mobile Premier League was founded in 2018.

How much money does MPL give?

For a simple game on MPL, the average entry fee is around INR 15 and you can win around INR 200 from it. You can also earn money by referring MPL’s games to your friends.

Is MPL App legal?

MPL app is an e-sports platform and has always been legal in India. However, according to the recent enactment of the state legislation, which banned money wagering and betting, online fantasy gaming apps like MPL, Paytm First Games, RummyCircle, and more was illegalized in the Indian state of Karnataka, as reported on October 5, 2021.

Is MPL KYC Safe?

MPL is certified by Master Card and Visa as a secure platform.

What are the Mobile Premier League games?

The Mobile Premier League games can be categorised into fantasy sports, card games, arcade games, action games and more.

What is MPL valuation?

MPL was valued at $2.3 billion in 2021.

What is MPL launch date?

MPL was founded in 2018.

February 24, 2025

Online Gaming’s GST Gamble: Expert Insights on 28% Tax Hike

The new 28% GST on online gaming has produced divided opinions about the industry’s future in India. Some experts condemn the GST hike, while others see it as boosting government revenues.

The Parliament’s new amendments in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) laws to levy a 28% tax on the face value of all bets made in online gaming, casinos, and horse racing destabilized the online gaming industry in the country. Further, the GST Council also agreed that there should be no distinction between a ‘game of skill and a game of chance’.

The online gaming sector, worth Rs 13,500 crore, accounted for 77% of India’s gaming sector revenue in 2022. As per the FICCI-EY report, these revenues were expected to grow to Rs 16,700 crore and Rs 23,100 crore in 2023 and 2025 respectively. Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra has predicted that the new levy would fetch an estimated additional revenue of Rs 20,000 crore to the government.

However, the new GST law to levy a 28% tax on the face value of online games curtailed the growth of the industry resulting in large-scale lay-offs and cost cuts in prominent companies operating in the sector.

GST Sentimeter | GST Council Decides On 28% Tax On Online Gaming | CNBC TV18

Government’s Motive to Impose 28% GST on Online Gaming
Impact on Online Gaming Companies
New GST Regulation’s Impact on Esports
Outlook for Online Gaming Industry in India

Government’s Motive to Impose 28% GST on Online Gaming

StartupTalky spoke with several key figures in the online gaming industry regarding the government’s decision to increase the GST on Real Money Gaming (RMG). Most experts opine that this move is an effort to increase government revenue, while others think that this also carries an underlying motive of curbing the unregulated expansion of RMG in India.

Dr. Aruna Sharma, a policy advisor and practitioner development economist by profession and the former Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India, believes that the government’s decision to increase the GST on RMG is a complex one, and there are likely multiple factors at play.

“The online gaming industry is a growing sector, and it is a potential source of revenue for the government. The government’s decision to increase the GST on both games of skill and games of chance is primarily aimed at increasing government revenue. The state governments have supported this decision, as they believe that it will generate more revenue for them. The government has been facing a fiscal deficit for some time now, and it is looking for ways to raise revenue.”

Mr. Rohit Bansal, Founder, of Super 4, said, “It’s a delicate balance between revenue generation and addressing the broader societal concerns associated with RMG, highlighting the government’s efforts to strike equilibrium in a rapidly evolving industry.”

Mitesh Gangar, Co-Founder & Director, PlayerzPot commented, “A 28% GST on the entire face value of online gaming is poised to significantly impede the growth of the online gaming industry. Previously, companies were willing to take risks and invest substantial resources in their operations, but this new taxation scheme renders such endeavors unviable. It presents a series of challenges, including constraints on cash flow, which in turn limits a company’s capacity to allocate funds towards research, innovation, expansion, and even its overall survival.”

Indian Online Gaming Sector from the Year 2019 to 2023 With Forecasted Value for the Year 2025

Impact on Online Gaming Companies

The GST hike has caused serious hindrances in the revenue and workforce of several companies including unicorns. Fantasy gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) has laid 350 employees so far, citing additional tax burdens. Other smaller players in the industry are dealing with layoffs, shutdowns, and funding challenges amidst the 28% GST on online gaming at full face value.

It also has undoubtedly imposed an increased financial burden on the companies. The additional tax has led to higher entry fees and reduced prize pools, making it more expensive for players to participate in fantasy leagues. This has ultimately resulted in a decline in player engagement and overall revenue for us as a brand.

When asked about the impact of the new tax on the company’s workforce, Bansal said, “To manage increased expenses resulting from higher GST rates, we have implemented cost-cutting measures. We have also made some operational adjustments, leading to shifts in workforce allocation, and job roles to optimize efficiency and reduce costs.”

Joy Bhattacharjya, Director General, Federation of India Fantasy Sports (FIFS) said that the decision would massively affect the $2.5 billion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) already invested and would jeopardize any further FDI in the industry.

Bhattacharjya also warned that this decision could result in users shifting towards unauthorized betting platforms, thereby posing a risk to users and causing a loss in government revenue.

Zacharias Tegefeldt, CEO and Co-founder, of TrophyRoom, while speaking about his company’s strategy to maintain a strong presence in the market and ensure positive growth, said, “Consumers will surely be pickier about where to place their funds going forward. It puts an increased emphasis on customer experience, support, etc. It also likely means that operators that do something new and different may be looked at differently. If I pay more, I want to experience more, so there’s an opportunity for companies like TrophyRoom, who focus a lot on product and gameplay innovation, to grab a larger piece of the market, by providing that extra spice to the experience. In a sense, it puts us in a rather unsuspected good position, since innovation and customer experience already make out the core pillars of our right to exist.”

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New GST Regulation’s Impact on Esports

However, when the 28% GST hike was announced, there were a lot of speculations about its impact on the esports industry as well. Clearing the confusion regarding whether the GST will have any sort of impact on the Esports or video gaming industry of the country, Mr. Vinod Tiwari, President, of the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) & acting Director General, of the Olympic Council of Asia states, “It is imperative to first understand that the 28% GST is going to apply to the iGaming sector, including Real Money Gaming (RMG), fantasy sports, teen patti, rummy, and poker which are categorized under gambling or betting in the rest of the world. Contrary to some media reports, this GST is neither applicable nor will it have any impact on the ‘Video Games’ or the Esports industry.”

“Esports has been officially recognized as a sport by the government which finally and thankfully distinguishes it from any activities like iGaming such as fantasy, teen patti, rummy, poker, betting, and gambling, among others. It will carry on being taxed the way it always has been. Theories of ‘game of skill’ and ‘game of chance’ which only exist in our country neither apply nor are relevant in the Esports ecosystem,” says Mr. Tiwari.

In April of this year, the government made amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 to lay out a comprehensive framework for the Online Gaming Ecosystem. According to Tiwari, instead of using the umbrella term of “online gaming”, the GST council should have ideally used the more specific term “iGaming’ which is known worldwide, or even “online real money game” which is defined in “The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules to avoid the confusion.

“We must acknowledge the TRUTH that the primary objective of the 400 million Indian video gamers (and approximately 3 billion gamers worldwide) is ‘purely entertainment’, and not financial gains or making money. It is regrettable that in India, our video games or esports industry is often unjustifiably associated with ‘iGaming, betting, RMG, gambling, and many more, which creates unnecessary confusion and misperceptions,” he adds.

Additionally, it is crucial to highlight that video game publishers have strict policies against implementing entry fees for any Esports events organized using their video games, further separating it from iGaming.

Gangar, when asked about the impact of the new GST on the willingness of aspiring entrepreneurs to enter this industry, said, “Aspiring entrepreneurs eyeing the online gaming sector will now think twice before venturing into it, primarily due to the burdensome GST. Consequently, the burgeoning gaming economy will face a substantial setback, resulting in economic strain, diminished job opportunities, and a stifled growth trajectory within the industry.”

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Outlook for Online Gaming Industry in India

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has targeted October 1 to roll out the tax along with an assured review of the levy six months after its implementation.

Tegefeldt said, “I hope for an amendment that addresses these quite serious issues. There needs to be a balance, which I don’t think has been achieved yet. If this needed amendment happens, I think it’s likely that the industry will see a rather quick dip, a new low, and then a resumption of growth after a while. If not, there are several different outcomes.”

On the other hand, being optimistic about growth in the industry, Bansal believes that trends like mobile gaming, localized content, and innovative gameplay are likely to drive expansion. He also shared that government regulations and consumer protection measures might become more stringent which in turn would affect the dynamics of the market. Collaboration between industry stakeholders and regulatory bodies will be pivotal for sustainable growth.

“Overall, the industry’s future will depend on its ability to adapt to changing tax structures, navigate regulatory hurdles, and meet evolving consumer preferences,” Bansal added.

However, Dr Sharma thinks that the Indian gaming industry has a huge potential to thrive, and the new regulation would foster a suitable environment for its development.

She said, “The government’s decision to increase the GST on online gaming is not intended to discourage the development of the gaming industry in India. The government believes that the Indian gaming industry has the potential to become a major hub, and it has already taken steps to regulate the industry and create a favorable environment for its growth. The increase in GST is simply a way for the government to raise revenue, and it is not expected to have a significant impact on the industry.”

Tegefeldt, anticipating the future, said, “A brighter future, from where I’m sitting, is indeed one where the hungry underdogs that actually bring something new and fresh to the table, get increased attention from the players. It would be an incredibly cool thing if the faster, leaner, and more creative underdogs can put some pressure on the larger operators and lead the way to a more fun future in gaming.”

While it is still one month away from the implementation of the Act, it is too early to predict the outlook for the online gaming industry or iGaming in India. The RMG industry in India faces a mixed outlook due to the change in tax regulations. While increased taxation may present challenges for operators, the industry is expected to continue its growth trajectory as online gaming gains popularity.

September 14, 2023
How to Build a Career in Gaming? | Career Options & Earnings in Gaming
Gaming has shifted its steps from hobbies and fun to career options. The widely spreading popularity of games shows the great future of the gaming industry.

Parents are mainly concerned about their children, and it is hard for a parent to believe to see it as a career option for their child. It might not look promising, but it occupies even a greater share than the film industry.

Apart from playing games, this industry offers hundreds of different job opportunities. And when we talk about a career, we are not talking about only a salary-based job for a living. It also includes passion, improvements, achievement, growth, and more. Nevertheless, gaming as a career option is touching all the aspects successfully. Let’s see how.

Things to Consider Before Jumping into a Gaming Career
Professional Degrees for Gaming Career
Career Options in Gaming
Salary and Earnings in Gaming Career
Conclusion
FAQs

Career in Gaming

Things to Consider Before Jumping into a Gaming Career

As per the recent updates of the Deloitte India report, the gaming industry is about to achieve $2.8 billion by 2022. With a pace of 40% CAGR, the industry is boldly highlighting the capacity it holds. A wide range of opportunities demands great effort; check your parameters before jumping in.

Identify Your Skills

The gaming industry may sound fascinating, but it demands dedication and skill. Understand your interest and research the desirable job opportunities. If you did not pursue a career you think would be best, choose something that matches your skills. Along with interest, you will need creativity, patience, and motivation.

Research over the different fields. Don’t accept and move according to someone’s point of view. Introspect and realize whether you can dedicate your time and value in this particular direction.

Professionality Demands Time

This field has detail-based work. Professional minds and hands are required to maintain the workflow, and professionality is not an overnight achievement. You need to invest your money, time, and dedication from the first day.

Figure out in which direction you need the professionality. If you love to play games, you should put effort into being a pro-gamer. And if you want to become a professional in the game-producing industry, then put your time and efforts in that direction.

Update and Upgrade

Gain information about the recent updates and remain in touch with the trend. Reciprocating with the trend, always upgrade yourself. It will uphold your demand in the industry.

This industry has evolved a lot. A specific game retains its popularity for a particular period. Gamers always want something new, and you should be ready to bring that change. Updating with technology is also needed, as technology is directly associated with the gaming experience. Your updated knowledge can give a different experience to the users.

Grow as a Community

Social reach and community building is an effective way to deliver your work. If you are a pro-gamer, it is impossible to achieve money and fame if you are socially inactive. It will make you aware of the user’s needs when you connect with the community.

Live streaming, victory milestones posts will increase your followers. You can grow your fanbase and spread your skills to the world.

Never Skip the Fundamentals

This is an essential point for every sector. The fundamentals are the keys to withstand in this competitive field. You will notice thousands of gamers and millions of gaming professionals, and you can stand out only if you grow with a solid fundamental grip.

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Professional Degrees for Gaming Career

The arena of gaming is expanding vastly at a rocketing speed. With this expansion, new games are also coming up in the scenario. The most common gaming types are namely; personal computer games, online games, mobile games, handheld games, console games, and arcade games. This expansion also offers the proliferation of new career options and degrees, starting from certificate to master’s degrees.

The most common diploma and certificate courses that individual interest areas are certificate courses in game design & art, and gaming. Besides these certificate courses, you can also go for diploma courses in some fields such as animation, game integration and design, game development, production gaming, game programming, gaming, and related special effects.

In addition to that, some people also go for advanced diploma programs in game programming, game design, game art, development application, and 3D content creation related to games. These diploma and certificate courses are best suitable for interested individuals who have completed their matriculation.

Interested candidates who have completed their 12th grade successfully can also pursue graduate courses in gaming. The common courses include bachelor’s of science in gaming, graphics, animation, game development, and designing. In bachelor’s of arts, fields such as computer graphics, animation, digital filmmaking are available. Other miscellaneous courses such as B.Tech in game development and computer science and BMAD (bachelor’s degree in the field of design & media animation) have also come up.

Besides these basic courses, an interested individual can also dive deeper into gaming and go for a master’s course. The most popular master’s course is masters of science in gaming, multimedia, game design, game development, and animation. Moreover, one can also go for an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree in the stream of animation & multimedia along with game design & art.

For pursuing the diploma and certificate courses, the interested candidate must have qualified 10th and 12th boards or any such equivalent examination with a minimum of 60% in their final exams from a recognized board. The interested candidate must have qualified 12th boards for pursuing the undergraduate courses. A bachelor’s degree from the field of gaming or its related disciplines becomes mandatory for individuals desiring to pursue a postgraduate degree.

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Career Options in Gaming

Career options in Gaming

The individuals interested in continuing their career must have conceptual and practical knowledge related to visual designing, coding, animation, and programming. Let’s discuss the top career options in this technologically evolving arena. Starting the list with gaming designers, these professionals conceptualize and formulate the storyline behind the game. They also design the game, thereby developing various characters and levels.

Gaming producer is another career option where professionals plan the production and release of the game, thereby managing every crucial part such as licensing of the game. Game animators are the professionals who impart engaging and thrilling graphics to set a lucrative atmosphere for the game. Game writers are professionals who evolve the storyline and dialogues of the game. Game artists are responsible for their 2D and 3D visual touch, making even tiny objects very animated.

Audio engineers are specialists who develop the audio theme and voiceovers in the game, thereby developing the background effects of the game. Game testers carry out various testing in the game before their release, thereby ensuring that no loopholes crawl to the audience. You can also go for other career profiles such as character animator, level scripter, art designer, interactive media designer, level designer, scriptwriter, game modeller, and freelance game developer.

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Salary and Earnings in Gaming Career

A career in gaming and esports is the new lucrative trend among youngsters. Perhaps, this stream offers high packages even to freshers. The most common recruiters include Zynga, Electronic Arts (EA), Ozura, Digital Chocolate, Hashtag, iEnergizer, and Games2Win. An average professional gamer earns no less than $60,000 annually.

Gamers with slightly better knowledge can even multiply their earnings, making it hit millions. With the online gaming industry earning the value of Rs 9,000 crore in 2020, gamers can also earn millions of dollars. It is all it needs for a professional to have the right practical skills besides his certificates.

Conclusion

Past was the time when gaming had a narrow future, and it is considered as time passed. It has become a strong professional career option. This industry also releases openings to recruit real and passionate game lovers. It is not difficult to certify yourself with the desired degree.

Society is also openly accepting this as a career option. Parents trust their wards and allow them to pursue these fields. It has an evolving opportunity and a bright choice.

FAQs

Can gaming become a career?

Gaming is not limited to entertainment and hobby these days. Gaming has become a great career option for those who have passion in gaming, graphics, animation, game development, and designing.

What are different types of Gaming?

The most common gaming types are:
- Personal computer games
- Online games
- Mobile games
- Handheld games
- Console games
- Arcade games
What are top gaming startups in India?

Some of the top Gaming Startups in India are:
- Dream 11
- Nazara Technologies
- Paytm First Games
- Games2Win
- Moonfrog Labs
- 99 Games
- Octro
- JetSynthesys
- Hashcube
- Mech Mocha
What are online Fantasy Gaming companies in India?

Some of the top Online Fantasy Gaming Companies in India:
- Dream 11
- Halaplay
- MPL- Mobile Premier League
- Cricplay
- Fanfight
- 11 Wickets.com
- Zapak
- BalleBaazi
- MyTeam11
- Rummy Circle
January 3, 2022

Top 10 Gaming Startups in China leading the Gaming Industry

Over the years, China’s Gaming Industry has grown exponentially and now houses a few of the best gaming companies in the world. The country gaming industry generated over $32 billion total revenue only in 2020, while E-sports earned more than $20.8 billion. When it comes to PC games, the Chinese gaming companies earn over $8.5 billion.

China also has the best e-sports players in the world and is among the top in the most significant game development market in the world. China is known to have over 665 million players who also spend more than 278 billion yuan on video games. Because of numerous strict regulations imposed by the Chinese Government, many Chinese gaming companies now want to focus on moving overseas markets.

China is called the gaming capital of the world as its gaming companies have provided innovative solutions at a high cost to value ratio. China currently has over 778 gaming startups in the country in 2021. The Chinese gaming companies are known to have a skilled workforce that aims in delivering quality, unique and engaging content.

These are the top ten gaming startups in China. The Chinese online game streaming industry is expected to grow to a height of a CAGR of 9% from 2021 to 2026, which means China has the potential to dominate the market with its gaming startups.

Tencent Games
NetEase Games
Huya Inc
Hero Entertainment
Giant Interactive Group
Cushou TV
Panda TV
Zeus Interactive
Chukong Technologies
Madhead App
Frequently Asked Questions

The Top Ten Gaming Startups in China are

Tencent Games

Company	Tencent
Founded year	1998
Headquarters	Shenzhen (China)
Funding	$12.6 Billion
Investors	Lippo Group, Prosus & Naspers, PCCW, IDG Capital

Tencent Logo

Tencent Holdings is one of the top gaming companies that was founded in 1998, with its headquarters based in Shenzhen, China. Besides gaming, Tencent also has its foothold in the sectors of entertainment, AI, advanced technology, and other internet-related services and products. Tencent Games has the largest online gaming community in China, it also is the largest digital entertainment platform in the world.

The company reportedly generated over $14.86 billion total revenue in 2019 revenue, making it the world’s largest games publisher the same year. Its most well-known games are PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings. Both PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings are globally renowned free-to-play multiplayer action games.

NetEase Games

Company	NetEase
Founded Year	1997
Headquarters	Hangzhou (China)
Funding	–
Investors	SoftBank Group

NetEase Logo

NetEase is another top IT company in China that operates and develops online PC and mobile games. The company was founded by William Ding in 1997 with headquarters based in Hangzhou, China. NetEase is now a global gaming company as it has collaborated with Blizzard Entertainment, Mojang AB and other leading global game developers.

Besides gaming, the company has also ventured into the industries of advertising, email and e-commerce services in China. The top games the NetEase has developed are Westward Journey, Tianxia III, Nostos, Onmyoji, among others.

Besides that, the company has also operated the Chinese versions of Blizzard Entertainment games like World of Warcraft, Overwatch, etc. NetEase is now ranked second place among the top mobile gaming companies in terms of its global revenue and has high ratings on both Apple and Google app stores.

Huya Inc

Company	Huya Inc
Founded year	2016
Headquarters	Guangzhou (China)
Funding	$1.1 billion
Investors	Tencent, Ping An, Engage Capital, David Li, 5Y Capital, Rongjie Dong and Gaorong Capital

Huya Logo

Huya is a live game broadcasting platform that was founded in 2014 with its headquarters based in Guangzhou, China. The company provides a broadcasting software platform that allows its users to stream and take videos while playing the game.

It helps connects broadcasters to their audience and is also the provider for a wide variety of media ranging from talent shows, cooking, sports, animes, online movies, etc. Huya is also the official broadcaster of top e-sports competitions.

Hero Entertainment

Company	Hero Entertainment
Founded year	2015
Headquarters	Beijing (China)
Funding	$539 million
Investors	Huayi Brothers Media Group, Prometheus Capital, ZhenFund, etc

Hero entertainment also known as Yxgyu.com is a mobile game developer that was founded in 2015. The company has its headquarters based in Beijing, China. Hero entertainment is the developer of the Battlefield series, which is a MMA fight show. Besides game development that company is also into combat sports and mixed martial arts promotions in their country.

Giant Interactive Group

Company	Giant Interactive Group
Founded year	2004
Headquarters	Shanghai (China)
Funding	$44.3 million
Investors	SIG China

Giant Interactive Group Logo

Giant Interactive Group is one of the best Chinese online game developers and operators of many well-known multiplayer online games. The company was founded in 2004 and has its headquarters based in Shanghai, China. Giant Interactive Group is currently one of the leading online game developers and operators in terms of revenue.

Their game ZT online is the most popular game in China in 2006, after the success of that game the company came up with Road Bin and Street Basket for android and iOS. Besides that, it has also come up with Jianghu and Xian Xia World both of which are MMORPG games. The company was also named“2016 Top Ten Most Anticipated Versatile Game Honor” by Road Crate.

Cushou TV

Company	Cushou TV
Founded year	2011
Headquarters	Hangzhou (China)
Funding	$117 million
Investors	Google, GGV Capital, Shunwei Capital, AlphaX Partners, iQiyi

Cushou TV is another leading mobile video live streaming platform with its headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Besides being an eSports video streaming platform, the company has also developed popular games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends that are well known around the world.

The company is now planning to improve its user network and expand its live video host’s network. Cushou TV has is well known for its live video-streaming platform that provides interaction sites and games, which enables E- gamers to stream their mobile phone game activities live.

Panda TV

Company	Panda TV
Founded year	2015
Headquarters	Shanghai (China)
Funding	$145 million
Investors	Zhen Fund, Chen Hai Capital, Hanfor, Lighthouse Capital

Panda Tv Logo

Panda TV is a Shanghai-based E-sports live streaming platform that specializes in broadcasting e-sports events live. The company allows its users to stream live e-sports games, events, it also streams video and news content related to esports.

It main competitors are Douyu TV and Twitch. However, in 2019, Panda TV announced that it will end its services because it had failed to raise funds in order to keep the operations going.

Zeus Interactive

Company	Zeus Interactive
Founded year	2011
Headquarters	Beijing (China)
Funding	$132 million
Investors	Beijing Enlight Media, Legend Capital, Legend Star, etc

Zeus Interactive Logo

Zeus Interactive is a leading game and web developer with headquarters based in Beijing, China. The company was started in 2011 and focuses on developing online mobile games.

Zeus Interactive so far has over 15 plus games and specializes in role-playing games for both mobile and PC. The company has raised more than $132 million in funding. Currently Zeus Interactive is planning to turn its games into live-action movies.

Chukong Technologies

Company	Chukong Technologies
Founded year	2011
Headquarters	Beijing (China)
Funding	$123 million
Investors	Qualcomm Ventures, GGV Capital, Steamboat Ventures, New Horizon Capital, Creaturk, Sequoia Capital China

Chukong Technologies Logo

Chukong Technologies is a well-known mobile entertainment platform with its headquarters based in Beijing, China. Besides developing mobile games, the company also has its foothold in publishing and game engine development.

The company has more than 60 published titles and its most successful game has been Fishing Joy which was launched in 2011, this game gained over 12 million downloads within a year of its launch.

Madhead App

Company	Madheads
Founded year	2013
Headquarters	Hong Kong (China)
Funding	$70 million
Investors	Forgame

Madhead App is a popular game developer with its headquarters based in Hong Kong. The company is known for its Role-playing games, its most well-known games are Tower of Saviors in need and Chronos Entryway. Their games like Tower of Saviors had over 19,00,000 downloads as of 2016.

The company’s games are popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and other South Asian countries. It game Tower of Saviors so far has over global downloads of over 23 million. Madheads is known for providing the best user experience for all mobile gamers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the top gaming startups in China?

The top gaming startups in China are Hero Entertainment, Huya Inc, Madhead App, Chukong Technologies, Zeus Interactive, Cushou TV, Panda TV, Giant Interactive Group, Tencent and Netease.

How many gaming startups are in China?

China currently has over 778 gaming startups in the country in 2021.

How much revenue does China generate from Gaming companies?

The country’s gaming industry generated over $32 billion total revenue only in 2020, while E-sports earned more than $20.8 billion.

September 18, 2021

The Growth Of Esport Market In India: The New Booming Industry

Esports is a form of sport competition using video games which is often organized into multiplayer video games, particularly between professional players, individually or as team. Esports has managed to take over the market in India mainly because of the growth and promotion done on online streaming platform such as Youtube and Twitch. The word “esports” is getting increasingly popular by the day thanks to the multiplayer online games like PUBG and Fortnite.

The masses still don’t know that the esports industry is more than a decade old and has just shot up in India in the past few years with more developers and investors jumping into the sector. The most common video game genre of esports are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), first person shooter (FPS), fighting, card games, battle royale and real time strategy (RTS). The popular franchises include League of Legends, Dota and Counter strike.

Although the legitimacy of esports as a true sporting competition remains in question, they have been features alongside traditional sports in events such as Asian games, while even the International Olympic Committee are also discussing their inclusion into the future of Olympic events. In India esports accounted for around 4% of all online gaming users and 9.13% of aggregate revenue out of the overall online gaming market in FY20. The growth in esports prize money pool by 123.3% during 2016-2018 has attracted gaming enthusiasts to become professionals

Esports in India
Esports Market During Covid-19
Best Esport Games in India
Role of The Stakeholders
Esport as a Career Option
Rise in Esport Prize Money Pool
Smartphone Penetration
Emergence of Esports Café
Rise in Startup Investments
Frequently Asked Questions

Growth analysis of gaming industry globally and In India.

The global gaming market was valued at $ 151.55 billion in 2019 . This industryis expected to reach a value of $ 256.97 billion by 2025. It is expected toregister a CAGR of 9.17% over the period (2020 – 2025). Gamer’s experience iswhat all the emerging comapnies are focusing at. Every company i…

StartupTalkyAbhishek Gupta

Esports in India

According to Forbes, India ranks 16th, with a total revenue of $1.17 billion (8,000 crore approx.). Comparatively to, North America is estimated to generate revenues of almost $409 million in the next four years while China known to have largest gaming market in the world, with a total revenue of $37.9 billion (Rs 26.11 lakh crore approx.) in 2018, followed by US, Japan and Korea. This shows there is huge potential in the esports market and India needs to tap into that space.

In 2010, India only had 25 game developers whereas now we have 250 more joining the list every year. Corporate giants like Paytm, Alibaba, Tencent and even Nazara have been investing heavily in the Indian gaming market, which is currently one of the top 5 countries in terms of mobile gaming. Most of the revenue generated in esports is sponsored by companies like Asus, Oppo which have been funding to organize and promote esports competitions in India.

Popular esport events in India

Apart from the local tournaments like PUBG Mobile India Series 2019, for the first time, Mumbai is set to play host to one of the biggest esports gaming event, ESL (Electronic Sports League) which will see Dota 2 players from across the globe compete in the two-day tournament. According to a Forbes report, as of October 31^st 2019, 285 players from India had earned $216,761.38 (Rs 1.49 crore) in various esports tournaments and games, ranking India at number 64.

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As per a KPMG report[https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2019/08/india-media-entertainment-report-2019.pdf] published in 2019, over 300 million people in India play online games. Onlinereal-money gaming that entered India around a decade ago, is also gaining muchpopularity, the reason b…

StartupTalkyHimaya Presthitha

Best Esport Games in India

Counter Strike

Counter Strike remains the most popular and most played esports in India. Counter Strike was released in 2012. Since 2012 Counter Strike has been India’s most popular esports game. India was not a hub for esports back then. But now Indian esports are being recognized at an international level and getting international investments too. Counter Strike is a multiplayer first-person shooter which pits two teams against each other. Competitors are given the task of eliminating the other while completing separate objectives.

Dota 2

Dota 2 is one of the first esport that comes to mind while talking about India’s most popular esports games. Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena. The two featured teams can have 5 players each. To win Dota 2, each team has to destroy the opposing structure while defending theirs. Players have more than 100 characters to choose from. Each character has unique abilities, playing styles, and attributes.

Esports Market During Covid-19

The paradigm shift in the way Indians consume content and the way people socialize online has acted as a catalyst for man attention economy sectors including online gaming. According to a report by Barc and Nielson the number of smartphone game users per week grew from 60% in pre Covid times to 68% during the lockdown. Similarly the mobile games per user spent went from 151 minutes before covid 19 to 218 minutes after the lockdown.

Esports has a huge potential in the Indian market because of the high youth population. The esport segment has online gaming has witnessed significant growth in India in the past few thanks to proliferation of high end smartphone at affordable prices, as well as the rise of mobile games such as PUBG mobile, Free Fire, Clash of Legends, call of duty Mobile among PC and Console games.

Along with deeper penetration for high speed 4G internet and a rise in the number of online gamers the esports market has all the ingredients for growth. The aggregate revenue of esports startups and companies in India reached $68 Million in FY2020 and is projected to grow by CAGR 36% in the next 3 years, as per Inc42 Plus analysis of 36 companies including Jetsynthesys, Nazara technologies, Usports, Gamerji among others.

India’s online gaming revenue growth to hit inflation point

Role of The Stakeholders

From e-commerce platforms like Flipkart to Asus, high end gaming hardware manufacture s like Asus as each platform play a major role in making sure that budding gamers and professional get the required accessory or hardware. According to Leon Yu, Regional Head for India and South Asia, ASUS, “most gamers these days demand LCDs, mobility of hardware and mostly importantly performance. We have also ensured that affordability and performance is catered to with our new series of ROG gaming laptops, which start at Rs 50,000.”

In terms of affordability and availability, ecommerce platform like flipkart and amazon make sure that customers get the products at a cheaper price. Looking at the market opportunity, even unicorns such as Paytm and Hike have doubled down on games. While Paytm launched Paytm First Games as a multi-game platform, Hike-backed WinZO has also been growing rapidly and has raised plenty of funding in the recent months.

Connectivity is quintessential for the growth of the gaming industry and telecom providers too have been working around the clock to not only provide users with affordable data plans, but also work towards make high-speed data accessible across India. According to Anurag Khurana, Head of Esports, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, “In terms of data availability, Reliance Jio has setup 3,00,000 mobile towers and spread around 3.5 million km of high-speed broadband cables across India in order to improve the connectivity because I feel low latency is key for online gaming.”

Growth analysis of gaming industry globally and In India.

The global gaming market was valued at $ 151.55 billion in 2019 . This industryis expected to reach a value of $ 256.97 billion by 2025. It is expected toregister a CAGR of 9.17% over the period (2020 – 2025). Gamer’s experience iswhat all the emerging comapnies are focusing at. Every company i…

StartupTalkyAbhishek Gupta

Esport as a Career Option

Currently there is not much scope for professional gamers in India as the infrastructure and the ecosystem is not ready to support a lucrative livelihood for many. According to Akshat Rathee, “choosing to be a gamer is a risky proposition in India as there is not much scope. However, there are other avenues one can explore in the gaming industry. People can choose a career in game commentary, choose to be an influencer where they can play games and talk about it, or a coder who can write code to build AI for games.”

Data handlers are also a good option where they can track data issues and then the biggest avenue is voice-over artistes as many developers will look to localize game content for Indian gamers. A career in esports or gaming in India can easily earn you anywhere from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh in a month. Since esports doesn’t require any extreme physical strength, it is a gender neutral space. Sasha Hostyn is one of the most successful women in professional esports and recently won the Intel Extreme Masters 2018 tournament, taking home $50,000 (Rs 34.45 lakh).

Rise in Esport Prize Money Pool

As indicated earlier, esports has seen rising participation from Indian players as the prize money across esports tournaments has been on an upward trajectory since 2016. The entry of PUBG Mobile in India was game changing moment as it provided gamers a career option. As per sensor tower data for July 2020, out of PUBG Mobile 734 Mn downloads globally, India was the ranked top in terms of downloads, with 175 Mn installs or 24% market share.

The growth rate of Esports prize money in India

Of course, much of this growth has been in recent years, whereas esports is already a multi-billion dollar business in the US and China. So relatively speaking, India has a long way to go in terms of revenue and income for players, despite outpacing China and the US in terms of downloads. To put in perspective, in 2019, esports tournaments in the US offered over $40 Mn in prize money, while India’s largest tournaments the PUBG Mobile India Series 2020 offered Rs 50 Lakh as total prize money.

Smartphone Penetration

Aside from the internet penetration and demographic fit, esports market in India has been driven by the proliferation of high performance smartphones and increasing presence of gaming related. The number of smartphone users in India grew at a CAGR of 15% during 2015 to 2020. The growing demand for digital services for information, entertainment and communication through apps such as Facebook, Whatsapp and YouTube have led to matured segment like esports.

Top 10 Online Fantasy Gaming Companies in India: Dream11, MPL,Cricplay

Time and again, an app comes into play that floods up the market share. OnlineFantasy Games has become more common in the last 2 decades and shockingly it hassecured top gear in India. Because, by creating your own imaginary team, if youcould earn some real money, then, why not? One gaming app h…

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Emergence of Esports Café

Esport cafes are not only a way for people to play games without owning the requisite hardware, but this is where the competitive mentality is built through amateur tournaments. India is home to an estimated 350-plus such esports cafes with PC hardware giant NVIDIA announcing plans to expand its gaming footprint in India by adding 100 more cafes. Nemesis Gaming, League of Extraordinary Gamers (LXG) and Circle Gaming are few major esports cafe startups in India.

Rise in Startup Investments

The demand for competitive gaming rises in India, the esports and gaming segment is attracting adequate investor interests. Between 2014 and H1 2020, the total venture capital funding in Indian gaming startups was $448 Mn, according to Inc42 Plus. Among the gaming startups, the top-funded startups are Dream11 with $100 Mn in total funding, followed by Smaaash Entertainment with $82.6 Mn in funding and Nazara Technologies with $79 Mn.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to get into esports in India?

You need to pick one famous game and practice it well. Get as many wins as possible. The best thing to join esport is to join a league or play in an online tournament. The entry fees are very less. It gives you chance to play against high-level players.

Which are the best esports games in India?

Counter Strike, Dota 2, League of Legends, Overwatch are some of the best esports in India.

How esports organizations make money?

Esport organizations make money through content and tournament performance.

Does esports have a future in India?

Esports as an industry has unlimited scope in India. According to the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming, Esports will see rapid growth in the country and reach a cumulative revenue of up to ₹11,900 Crore.

April 18, 2021
Dream 11: Binding Indians Together

Dream 11, India’s magnificently famous Fantasy game was started in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavith Seth. Both being football enthusiasts themselves wanted to increase the involvement of sports lovers in their favorite sport. Dream 11 has crossed 60 million users in 2019 and is expecting to reach 100 million users by next year. Adding onto Dream 11’s business and revenue investors like Tencent and Stead view Capital, Think Investments, Multiples Equity, and Kalaari Capital have invested largely to the Dream 11 fantasy game. Being the first Indian company to make it to Unicorn club, Dream 11 now values over $ 1 Billion.

The application Dream 11 is a major hit among Indians since it binds the country together for their love for Cricket. India’s love for cricket is uncanny and unstoppable. When countless things tear the country apart, cricket will always make us stick together and Dream 11 currently, has a major role in doing so.

The Dream Behind Dream11
Dream11 – Business Model
Dream11 – Revenue Model
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions

The Dream Behind Dream11

Harsh Jain and Bhavith Sheth, the founders of Dream 11 were just 22-year-olds when the journey of Dream 11 in India began. Both being huge fans of the fantasy leagues of English football wanted to do something similar for IPL (Indian Premier League) Dream11 started off as a personal project for the duo with the plan to help Indians be move involved in their beloved sport more than ever.

Harsh was an engineering student at the University of Pennsylvania and he was also working as a marketing manager at Jai Crop, an infrastructure and real estate company promoted by his father Anand Jain. Red Digital, a digital and social media agency was also dabbled by the duo in 2010.

The company sold Gozoop for roughly Rs7 crore in 2013. Dream 11 was initially an ad-based model which had a long season format. sadly, it didn’t find many takers. The company eventually decided to stop this model in 2012 and shifted its focus to allow users to invest money in their favorite teams. Allowing users to pick a team before the match begins and also allows the users to choose which players will perform the best. Earning a rank at the end of the game depends upon how the user performs throughout the actual math and how many points has the user accumulated.

The users are charged with a service fee if they choose to play a money game wherein the money is pooled and the user earns ranks. having just 300,000 users in January 2015, the company has now reached 1.3 million users by the end of the year. Witnessing Dream 11’s trajectory, its user count took a leap from 5.7 million users at the end of 2016, then to 17 million users in 2017, and more than 8 crore + users currently.

Dream11 raises funds from Tencent Holdings

Dream11, Mumbai based fantasy sports platform have closed a $100 million SeriesD funding led by Tencent, a Chinese multinational investment company. Existinginvestors Kalaari Capital and private equity firm Multiples Alternate AssetManagement also participated in the funding round. Tencent has e…

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Dream11 – Business Model

Dream 11 is a sports startup for sports buffs to showcase their love, passion and especially their knowledge regarding the sport. Enabling the users to create their own team using the available players in a certain match, the users create the best possible team according to their wish.

Dream 11 Investors Valuation (In $ Million)

Once the teams are created, the users can compete with other users online through the Dream 11 app. Points are awarded to each player during the ongoing match depending upon their performance in the real match. In the end, the user with the maximum points wins the biggest chunk of the designated prize money. One has to pay a fixed amount of money to compete with other users on the app. Only a definite number of players are allowed to participate. The entry fee for a certain league is the same for all the users.

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The users don’t always win the prize money, however, the person with the highest points is awarded the prize money and the prize money is also decreased depending upon the rank. The total amount put in by all the users is usually higher than than the total prize money which is distributed among the winners, the remaining amount is collected by Dream 11. The entry fees are usually around Rs75 with the total prize pool of Rs3 Lakh with respect to 5333 entries. The number of winners ranges to 2600. The prize money is then distributed among 2400 users from the 5333 entries.

Dream11 – Revenue Model

Dream 11 spends a lot of money on technology up-gradation, platform maintenance, human capital and of course advertising. With this, they also offer cash prizes and rewards to the top scorers. Diving deeper into the app one can opt for free as well as cash contests. The free contests consist of users to just enter and play. The top scorers in free contests do not any cash rewards. The cash contests aren’t free to enter.

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The users are supposed to pay an entry fee to create their desired fantasy game team thus entering the contest. The winners of the cash contests are eligible to claim the cash rewards. The money is usually transferred into the winner’s bank account. In order to make money, Dream 11 makes sure the sum total collected before the game as ‘entry fees’ is greater than the sum of all the cash rewards paid by them to the top-scoring participants during the match.

Dream 11 Total Expenses

When a user selects his/her team they are supposed to pay Rs.73 to enter the Dream11 cash contest. The total prize money amounts to Rs.3 lakhs and this price amount will be distributed to the winners. the total slots available for a match are 5,333.The total revenue to be collected by Dream11 will be the amount that calculates when you multiply the total slots by the entry fee which is Rs.5333 x 73 = Rs.3,89,309.

Conclusion

Thus Rs.3,00,000 being the total price money payable under the contest the remaining, Rs.89,309 represents Dream11’s revenue. Dream 11 the fantasy cricket app collects its revenue by charging the users an entry fee when they join a contest, Ultimately, its a 20-80% game wherein 20% is deducted as commission and the remaining 80% is distributed among the winners of the contest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dream11 legal and safe?

Yes, millions of people are playing paid leagues on dream11. It is absolutely safe and legal way to earn money. Dream11 is largest fantasy website in India having more that 1.1 crore players. It is not like bidding.

Is Dream11 a Chinese app?

No, Dream11 is a an Indian startup, founded by Harsh Jain. It is an Indian fantasy sports app. Tencent, a Chinese conglomerate has 10% stake in Dream11.

How Much Money Dream 11 Makes?

Dream11 has userbase of 800 million in 2020. In 2019, Dream11 generated a revenue of around ₹775cr ($103M), a 250% growth over 2018 revenue of ₹224cr ($30M).

April 17, 2021
Growth Of Indian Gaming Industry During Pandemic

The Indian online gaming Industry is growing at an exponential rate upon year and is expected to be worth $1.1 billion by 2021. The industry has experienced a drastic growth at the beginning of 2020 due to the pandemic. When other businesses shut down, the gaming industry got lots of new users. The number of games doubled after the lockdown and is expected to rise in 2021.

Online gaming has gained a strong foothold within the India entertainment industry. With a projected user base of more than 628 million gamers, this gives a whole new boost to the Indian economy. This industry contains game developers, designers, investors, marketers and gamers of all ages working together to come up with the latest cutting games, concepts and offers for players. Gaming has become one of India most exciting industries with more investment from both companies and consumers every year.

The online gaming industry is still quite an unexplored area in India but the companies that have taken the leap are flourishing and are now expected to grow by 41% in 2021. All this interest and potential makes India one of the top gaming markets amongst emerging global economies. Statistics show that the Indian gaming markets is the fastest growing one in the world.

The Growth Of Esport Market In India: The New Booming Industry

Esports is a form of sport competition using video games which is oftenorganized into multiplayer video games, particularly between professionalplayers, individually or as team. Esports has managed to take over the market inIndia mainly because of the growth and promotion done on online streaming…

StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

A Brief About The Indian Gaming Industry
Gaming Industry During The Covid Pandemic
The Reasons For The Growth Of Online Gaming Industry
FAQ’s
Conclusion

A Brief About The Indian Gaming Industry

According to a report ‘Gaming- India Story’, the online gaming Industry is said to be growing at the rate of CAGR of 22%. The report also claimed that the Indian Gaming Industry is expected to grow 41% annually due to the growth of digital infrastructure rise in quality and engaging gaming content. The gaming Industry in India is said to be valued at $3,750, by 2021. So far, the industry has attracted $350 million in investments from venture capitalists from 2014 to 2020.

Value of gaming companies from the financial year of 2007 to 2020 with estimates until 2022

Pankaj Karna, the managing director of Maple Capital Advisors said that, “With growing internet penetration, compelling economics, usage statistics and increasing ecosystem of entrepreneurs and developers focusing on this space we expect good growth in investments which are likely to at least double in this space in the next 1 – 2 years.” India has become the second largest market worldwide for app worldwide for app downloads.

The three key segments of online gaming are Real Money Games (RMG), Mobile centric or casual games and Esports. There has been a huge increase in the number of smartphone users which is why many gaming developers are looking on to capitalize on. At present, there are over 400 gaming startups and more than 500 million smartphone users in India, making mobile gaming lead by 85% share of the total online gaming sector in India.

Growth analysis of gaming industry globally and In India.

The global gaming market was valued at $ 151.55 billion in 2019 . This industryis expected to reach a value of $ 256.97 billion by 2025. It is expected toregister a CAGR of 9.17% over the period (2020 – 2025). Gamer’s experience iswhat all the emerging comapnies are focusing at. Every company i…

StartupTalkyAbhishek Gupta

Gaming Industry During The Covid Pandemic

Due to Covid 19 and substantial lockdown, visits to online gaming websites or apps rose by 24%. Moreover, engagement as measured by the amount of time spent on gaming sites or apps, also increased by 21% during the same time period. Platform such as Games2Win, WinZo Games, Hitwicket, Gamerji and Rummy recorded a tremendous increase in daily user’s base as well as the time spent playing those games. While Indian gaming companies like Dream11 and MPL are known worldwide.

Top Gaming Companies in India

In 2020 however, Esports have shown strong user growth and profitability, and so has the real money games, which besides lockdown also increased after the ban of popular multiplayer games like PUBG. Winzo games reported three times more user engagement and 30% higher traffic in online mobile gaming. Similarly Paytm First games also reported 200% increase, with 75,000 new users only during the pandemic.

Three in every five serious gamers are now playing for around four hours more than before the lockdown. Mobile gaming in particular as seen a steady rise during the lockdown as there were many people at their homes. During this time, around 15% of the Indian gamers shifted from playing freemium games to paid games. Through a survey, most gamers also agreed that mobile gaming helped them overcome isolation.

Why COVID-19 is Game Changer for Online Businesses

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The Reasons For The Growth Of Online Gaming Industry

Accessibility to smartphones

The smartphones market plays a crucial role in the gaming industry. The increased competition requires offering more reasonable prices. As a result, anyone can afford a smartphone with great features. Along with the availability of faster internet connection, this leads to the perfect conditions for online gaming growth. The market will grow even more when people get access to a mobile device.

Gadgets used for playing video games in India

Investments by Chinese Tech firms

Chinese tech companies invested in the Indian gaming markets. According to estimates they managed to invest over $8 billion in the Tech sector. Companies such as Alibaba and Tescent gained stakes in some in some of the top Indian gaming companies. The government has recently put restrictions on Chinese investments during the Covid 19 Pandemic.

This however, did not stop the investors from investing in Indian gaming companies. Paytm First Games and Daraz has launched a successful gaming platform in Bangladesh. Tencent experienced a fall due to the lack of sporting events in the lockdown. But, they chose to invest in Dream 11, as they saw potential in the platform.

More people equals to more players

India has the second highest population in the world, with over 1.3 billion inhabitants as of the beginning of 2020. This means that there is a massive untapped base for the gaming industry in India, which has already benefitted the Indian economy to a great extent. The main reason for some games to get popular are when some people talk to each other and invite their family members to group games, influence their peer groups and spread the word about their games. This leaves a lot of scope for the gaming industry to make a foray into.

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Skill gaming options

Youngsters in India love to play skill games. When it comes to the online availability of different games has taken this sector to a whole new level. There are numerous sites available so that Indians can choose their favorite games. The market needs to expand market the options and offers many more choices for different tastes. The game providers need to introduce more free games for passionate players.

Growing culture

The increase of number of players, results in a convenient gaming culture. The revenue generated will help the gaming industry grow and will help the local gaming communities and the ecosystems that include developers as well as consumers. In the last decade, the number of Indian game development companies has increased from 25 to 250, with new gaming startups appearing every month. It’s more appealing for the public to spend their money on businesses and companies that will develop products that are tailored to their own local tastes.

FAQ’s

Is the gaming industry growing?

Game console revenue, which includes the hardware and all game software and services, is expected to rise 20% worldwide compared with 2019, to $52.5 billion, according to Ward. Looking at digital PC and Mac sales, global revenue is expected to rise 11% from a year ago, to $39.5 billion.

Is the gaming industry dying?

The gaming industry is very far from dying, but there is a massive problem with the economics of the gaming industry at both the high and low end, and both of these problems mean that taking risks is dangerous. So the video game industry is playing it safe and probably too safe at the moment.

Why gaming industry is the best?

The gaming industry is considered to be one of the most exciting industries in tech because of its importance to culture, entertainment, and technological advancement.

Which country has the biggest gaming industry?

As of 2020, it is estimated that China ranks first among the biggest gaming markets worldwide, with a revenue of 40.85 billion U.S. dollars. The video gaming market in the United States ranked second, generating an approximate 36.92 billion U.S. dollars in annual revenues.

How big is the gaming industry?

Video games are a billion-dollar business and have been for many years. In 2020, the revenue from the worldwide PC gaming market was estimated at almost 37 billion U.S. dollars, while the mobile gaming market generated an estimated income of over 77 billion U.S. dollars.

Conclusion

Due to the widespread coronavirus pandemic, the gaming industry is thriving and growing like anything. This is because of the precautions that are taken for coronavirus. Social distancing has made people limit interaction with each other. This has led to a downfall in consumer and business activities. Online Gaming has become the platform that has provided an engaging distraction for people seeking social interaction.

Looking at the situation where it may take a while for the pandemic to settle and cool down, the expectation of the video games industry is to continue its upward growth trend. The gaming community is looking at a post-pandemic gaming world with a steady flow of new titles, campaigns on social media, quizzes and competitions. There is no stopping to the Gaming Industry that has made people interact in crisis situations.

April 4, 2021
AI and Machine Learning in Sports – How it Changes The Game?

The rise of AI and Machine Learning has enveloped every walk of life. Cutting edge technologies like AI and Machine learning are being adopted to better analyse, optimise and organise every aspect in the field of sports. To gain a competitive edge over their opponents, athletes and management are required to gather every information about the individual and team performances they possibly can.

From Football to Formula 1, AI and Machine learning is being used to strategize, train, advertise and do so much more. Artificial Intelligence and virtual reality are increasingly used to boost fan engagement and provide real-time analytics. One famous instance is the movie Moneyball helmed by Brad Pitt, where they show how the use of analytics can bring a mediocre baseball team to the spotlight.

Machine Learning has been adopted rapidly in the world of sports analytics. Due to a large amount of raw data available in sports such as player statistics, team’s recent win/loss etc. This data is used to build predictive machine learning models to make better decisions to help management. Machine learning and predictive analysis are playing a huge role right from coaching, talent scouting to refereeing and broadcasting. Sports analytics industry market size is expected to gain 2.46 billion dollars by 2025. In the world of sports, raw data are abundant, and using Machine Learning helps to analyse and interpret this data. The questions you will ask the data will decide what you can do with it.

Let us take a look at where AI and Machine Learning are being used today and the future it can take.

AI in Sports Recruitment and Coaching
Analysing Player Behaviour
AI in Talent Scouting
Refereeing
Improving Health, Fitness and Safety
Streaming and Broadcasting
Legal Sports Betting
Improving Health, Fitness and Safety

AI in Sports Recruitment and Coaching

AI in Sports Recruitment

Behind every winning team, there are experienced coaches. But now they are getting help from Augmented AI, with the use of wearable sensors and high-speed cameras which are feeding data that are leading to improved training. Sports teams, be it cricket, football or any other game, are increasingly using player’s performance data to measure their potential. Traditional coaching’s biggest weak spot is it takes many years to hone the skills. Now coaches are getting help from AI assistants, which is helping to improve the in-game strategy and optimising the team’s line up based on algorithms that study their peers and the possible game tactics.

Recognising potential, in whichever field may it be, is very human talent. Though not all teams are using sports analytics and machine learning due to high costs involved, explaining complex analytical methods to coaches can be problematic without technological assistance.

Analysing Player Behaviour

AI can do what humans cannot, that evaluates various parameters side by side. Using wearable devices and high-speed cameras, AI can track individual player’s data throughout the match. This technology can identify minuscule differences and help us understand how the players perform under stress. AI technology can perform in-game strategy analysis during the matches and communicate better real-time game plan changes to the coaches and then to the players.

AI in Talent Scouting

The sports industry is essentially known for its scouting for best players and talent for the professional teams. Talent scouting is the backbone of many sports organisations, where sports team gather data on useful information such as player strengths and weaknesses, opponent teams strategies. S.L Benfica, a top-tier football team in Portugal, makes more money in finding, developing, training and selling players than actually playing the game.

Football teams are well known for making trades and selling players with other clubs and leagues, but Benfica has turned it into an art, buying young talent, using advanced technology, data science and training to improve player health and performance and later selling them for tens of million pounds, sometimes as much as 10 to 20 times their original fee.

Historical data is well documented in sports, with use of AI we can make predictions to the future potentials of player’s before investing in them and can be used in estimating the market value of the player’s to make the right offers while acquiring new talent.

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Refereeing

Refereeing is one of the earliest applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence in sports. The technology helps bring precision to the judgement making the game to be fair and law-abiding. For instance, in cricket, hawk-eye technology is used to identify whether the batsman is out or not in cases of LBW.

Improving Health, Fitness and Safety

It is a well-known fact that AI and ML are transforming the healthcare industry in many ways. The predictive and diagnostic capabilities of AI can also be applied to the sports industry. In sports, the physical health and fitness of the players are extremely important. Teams invest heavily to keep the physical and mental well being of the players, to maintain their peak physical condition and perform optimally.

Growth rate of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Player skills can be classified into physical skills and mental skills. Physical skills comprise objectives such as power, endurance, flexibility etc, and mental skills are an alloy of concentration, emotion management, cognitive and communicative skills. Each sport measures these skills in different ways and adopting machine learning in sports models acts as an intersection of subjective and objective data in such a way that individual training programs can be designed for specific players. The physical toll of sports is being well documented and preventive wellness programs use predictive analysis to identify a chronic problem before it aggravates.

Streaming and Broadcasting

AI and ML platforms are used in cameras recording the match, where sports broadcasters can selectively capture the highlights and distribute what they wish, completely disrupting monetisation of sporting events. AI can automatically provide subtitles for live events in different languages based on the viewer’s location and language preferences. AI is used in sports marketing to identify the best camera angles during the match and as well as in highlights/replays to display on a viewer’s screen.

AI is used in providing statistical information to commentators helping them to run a better live commentary. AI can be used in advertising to identify the right opportunities to present ads based on crowd excitement levels in sporting arenas and to present relevant ads based on the viewer’s demographics. Brands can get better advertising opportunities based on the top moments of the game as identified by AI.

Legal Sports Betting

Whether a user bets on a team or a player they love, or against the team they dislike, they need to have some knowledge in terms of technical data. The sports betting industry is joining hands with artificial intelligence to use this data. For the algorithms to work well, the sport has to be predictive and follow a set of rules. For instance, cricket has a set of rules with a limited duration and gets repeatable, where multiple videos can be run with the algorithm to see patterns that can be predicted by AI and ML. Though a study of sports betting algorithm and interpretation is still in its early stages, various organisations are continuously researching the field.

FAQs on AI in Sports Industry

How AI is used in Sports?

AI helps to analyze the performance of the player and hence help to select the best ones for a match.

What industry uses AI the most?

Healthcare, Retail , Entertainment and Gaming are some of the major industries utilizing AI.

What are the 4 types of AI?

The four types of AI are Reactive machines, limited memory, Theory of mind and Self-awareness.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence and machine learning as emerging technologies has started to impact every possible aspect of a sport. With sophistication in data analysis, visualisation and prediction, the industry is set to witness higher precision from scouting and recruiting talent to get more insights on the performance of a sport. ‌‌

February 25, 2021