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Tag: Online Gaming

  • Games24x7 Success Story: How this company leads the gaming world in India

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

    Who does not loves to play games, especially online or pc games? Who says only kids can play games? Adults can equally indulge in games to give themselves a break from work.

    Playing games is a great way to deal with boredom. It also acts as a stress-buster, when one has to take a minute to engage in the world of fun and fantasy and escape ordinary life. If we talk about the history of video games, then that dates back to somewhere in the 1950s to 1960s.

    So far, with the rise of new technology, the gaming world has also evolved. Today, we have dedicated websites where we can play games directly through the internet without downloading them or using CDs or other mediums.

    Games24x7 is one of the leading Indian online gaming startups which was founded in 2006 that offers various skill games like RummyCircle and My11Circle in a hyper-personalized gaming experience.

    Read the article further to know more about Games24x7’s success story, how it functions, its founders, business & revenue model, growth, funding and investors, and so on.

    Games24x7 – Company Highlights

    Headquarters Mumbai, India
    Sector Technology, Information and Internet
    Founder Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy
    Founded 2006
    Valuation $2.5 billion
    Website www.games24x7.com

    The Story of Games24x7 & how does it work
    Games24x7 – Industry
    Games24x7 – Founders
    Games24x7 – Mission and Vision
    Games24x7 – Name, Tagline, and Logo
    Games24x7 – Business & Revenue Model
    Games24x7 – Funding and Investors
    Games24x7 – Investments
    Games24x7 – Advertisements and Social Media
    Games24x7 – Awards and Achievements
    Games24x7 – Competitors
    Games24x7 – Future Plans

    The Story of Games24x7 & how does it work

    The idea of Games24x7 came in a lab at New York University by two friends – Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy. The duo shared common interests in online games, which eventually gave birth to Games24x7 in 2006.

    It started its journey by launching its first online game RummyCircle. Rummy is a kind of card game played with two decks of cards and a total of two Jokers. The platform offers online rummy. Later in 2015, Ultimate Games (U Games), the company’s casual games studio, was established to develop new games for the worldwide market.

    Around 2019, Games24x7 launched My11Cricle, which is one of the country’s top fantasy sports platforms. This platform includes sports like Cricket and Football.

    In 2021, Games24x7 expanded its gaming platform by adding carrom, and kabaddi to its My11Cricle portfolio.

    RummyCircle and My11Cricle involve real money as the prize. The Games24x7 crew is varied, skilled, and dedicated, with offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Kyiv, Philadelphia, and Miami. The firm focuses on providing amazing gaming experiences across multiple platforms by leveraging behavioral research, technology, and artificial intelligence.

    Other than online gaming, Games24x7 has specialties in Game AI, Data Science, Skill Games, Content AI, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Supervised Learning, Mobile Games, Process AI, and Data Analytics.

    Games24x7 now utilizes Amazon CloudWatch to survey its applications, which consistently delivers notifications that assist engineers to detect and act on likely problems before they arise, preventing an interruption in the user experience. In addition, since there is real money involved in their RummyCircle, it takes the help of the Amazon Neptune graph database to determine whether two players in a game are conspiring to outwit the other four players. This allows the company to stay alert and prevent any sort of fraudulent activities.

    Games24x7 was highlighted as one of eight innovative startups using the potential of new-age innovation to develop a new-age India on Discovery Channel’s TV series, India Startup Stories. It is also India’s 99th unicorn company.

    Games24x7 – Industry

    As per a report, there are about five billion internet users around the world, accounting for 63% of the world’s population. Experts predict that the tech industry will have a growth rate of 104% between 2018 and 2023.

    Games24x7 – Founders

    Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy founded Games24x7 in 2006.

    Bhavin Pandya

    Bhavin Pandya is also the CEO of Games24x7. His responsibilities involve looking into the company’s operations and game development. Bhavin graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He likes to make sure to achieve the company’s strategic goals and ensures that the correct culture is established and maintained. One of the most challenging things for Bhavin was to leave a fully-funded Economics Ph.D. program at New York University to go after his passion and launch Games24x7. He has interned at General Electric Healthcare for almost a year.

    Trivikraman Thampy

    Trivikraman Thampy likes to be called Vikram by his teammates. He lives in Miami and has led the firm through multiple successful product launches, marketing campaigns, and investment rounds. Trivikraman has a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He has a total of 14 years of experience in handling the analytical abilities and strategic judgments of the company ever since its beginning.

    Games24x7 – Mission and Vision

    The vision statement of Games24x7 is, “To nurture people to develop the core values and traits that we believe are the key to any organization’s success.”

    The Core Values of Games24x7 are:

    • Honesty
    • Humility
    • Genuineness
    • Decency
    • Fairness

    Over 14 years, Games24x7 has been transformed many times and has experimented with multiple logos and concepts.

    The current logo of the company was revealed in January 2020. The new logo of the company demonstrates the importance of its mission.

    The new logo shows a tech stack with coding symbols to give a form of a cube with the alphabet ‘G’ on top of the cube symbol. The logo mirrors Games24x7’s brand identity, bringing in aspects of imagination, ideation, and intelligence. It is led by a bold and steady blue with a flash of lively orange color, accompanied by tranquil teal and aqua accents.

    The tagline of Games24x7 is, “The Science of Gaming”, which truly defines its creativity and as the technology leader in today’s gaming market.

    Games24x7 – Business & Revenue Model

    The business model of Games24x7 can be defined as having an online model where it offers a hyper-personalized gaming experience to its customers. The company works on a model-driven rather than a data-driven one, with machine learning (ML) models directing essential business logic across the operation. By leveraging technologies such as AI, ML, Data Science, and so on, the company is now offering these services as B2B products for other firms.

    The three major gaming platforms of Games24x7 are:

    • RummyCircle
    • My11Circle
    • U Games

    Games24x7 gets its major chunk of revenue through RummyCircle and My11Circle gaming platforms.

    Games24x7 – Funding and Investors

    Games24x7 has raised $75 million in fundraising across two waves. Their most recent fundraising came on March 30, 2022, in the form of a Venture-Series Unknown round. Four investors support Games24x7. The most recent investors are Malabar Investment Advisors and Tiger Global Management. The other two investors of Games24x7 are The Raine Group and Das & Co.

    Date Funding Round Fund Amount Investors
    March 30, 2022 Venture Round $75 million Malabar Investment
    Jun 5, 2006 Seed Round – –

    Games24x7 – Investments

    Games24x7 has made only one investment as of now. On August 18, 2021, Games24x7 invested in Cricheroes, a web portal aimed at the grassroots cricket ecosystem.

    Games24x7 – Advertisements and Social Media

    Games24x7 had rolled out a campaign for its sports fantasy platform by featuring Sourav Ganguly, who also happens to be the brand ambassador of My11Circle. The company launched a campaign ahead of IPL 2022. The idea of the ad is crafted by the Script Room. With the #IndiakaSabseBada1stPrize, which was a giveaway prize meant for the games on the My11Cricle platform.

    Previously, in 2020, Games24x7 launched a campaign for its RummyCircle platform to bring out the light-hearted competitiveness of the gaming platform among the players. With the title “Apna Game Dikhao” the ad targeted the gaming spirit of rummy offers its players, which is a blend of multiple emotions. The campaign was unveiled on various media including OTT platforms and YouTube.

    Recently, Games24x7 has roped in Bollywood Actor, Hrithik Roshan as its RummyCircle’s brand ambassador.

    Games24x7 – Awards and Achievements

    In May 2022, BCCI awarded the title sponsorship rights of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 to My11Circle.

    The Indian Digital Marketing Awards (IDMA) 2021 was presented to RummyCircle by teaming with Affle’s MAAS platform for a campaign. The unified platform won eight awards. This was Games24x7’s first-ever mobile-user acquisition campaign with MAAS.

    The awards are:

    • Best use of Mobile to Drive Sales
    • Cross Mobile Integration
    • Most Effective App for Consumer
    • Best Data-Driven Strategy
    • Best Omni-Channel Campaign Management & Marketing Automation
    • Most Effective Use of Digital Analytics
    • Best Multi-Mobile Channel Campaign

    Games24x7 – Competitors

    Some of the top competitors of Games24x7 are:

    1. Dream11
    2. FanFight
    3. Daily Fantasy Cricket
    4. Classic Rummy
    5. Junglee Rummy
    6. Octro Inc
    7. Sachar Gaming Pvt. Ltd.
    8. Adda52.com

    Games24x7 – Future Plans

    The company plans to use its funds to invest more in technology, which is its main platform to diversify its content and aims to remain the market leader. It is also aiming to team with other content creators across international boundaries to bring more gaming content to India.

    FAQs

    Who is the CEO of Games24x7?

    Bhavin Pandya is the CEO of Games24x7.

    Who is the Brand Ambassador of Games24x7?

    Games24x7 has onboarded Hrithik Roshan as it’s Brand Ambassador.

    Where is the head office of Games24x7?

    The Head office of Games24x7 is in Mumbai.

    Is Games24x7 a Unicorn?

    Yes, Games24x7 is a Unicorn.

  • NetDragon Websoft – World’s First Company to Appoint an AI-Powered Robot as Its CEO

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by NetDragon Websoft.

    The technological world keeps setting new records. Recently, the Chinese mobile game developer NetDragon Websoft selected “Tang Yu” as its Rotating CEO. Tang Yu is a virtual human backed by artificial intelligence. A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG, sometimes known as an MMO), is an online video game that has a lot of people on the same server, usually hundreds or thousands. MMOs often include a sizable, ongoing immersive experience, while there are some games that don’t. These games are available on the majority of network-capable platforms, such as mobile phones, gaming consoles, personal computers, etc.

    Players can participate and compete with one another on a global scale in MMOs, as well as occasionally engage in important global interactions. They reflect several different video game categories and offer a diversity of gaming styles.

    NetDragon Websoft, a China-based organization, creates mobile applications as well as massively multiplayer online games. In 2002, the business unveiled its first product.

    Here’s the success story of NetDragon Websoft that covers all about the company, its startup story, founders, competitors, revenue model, acquisitions, and more, you can check ahead!

    NetDragon – Company Highlights

    Startup Name NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
    Headquarters Fuzhou, China
    Industry Online gaming, mobile internet, online education
    Founded 1999
    Founder Dr. Liu Dejian
    Revenue $1.01 billion (2021)
    Website netdragon.com

    NetDragon – About and How It Works?
    NetDragon – Industry
    NetDragon – Headquarters
    NetDragon – Founder
    NetDragon – Virtual CEO
    NetDragon – Startup Story
    NetDragon – Mission and Vision
    NetDragon – Business and Revenue Model
    NetDragon – Education
    NetDragon – Employees
    NetDragon – Funding and Investors
    NetDragon – Investments
    NetDragon – Acquisitions
    NetDragon – Competitors
    NetDragon – Future Plans

    NetDragon – About and How It Works?

    Operating as an investment holding business, NetDragon Websoft, Inc. creates and manages online games. Online game development, comprising game design, graphics, and programming, as well as online game operation, are the company’s and its subsidiaries main business operations.

    Since 2004, NetDragon has also operated its games directly in foreign markets, doing so in Spanish, English, Spanish, and other languages. Way of the Five, Zero Online, Conquer Online, Eudemons Online, and Heroes of Might & Magic Online are some of the current titles available in the Group’s game portfolio. Other games in the portfolio cater to different player types and gameplay interests.

    The Group is also working on a new version of Ultima Online in addition to Tian Yuan, CJ7 Online, Disney Fantasy Online, Dungeon Keeper Online, and other games. The company was established in 1999 and has its headquarters in Fuzhou, China.

    In recent years, NetDragon has started to develop its online education business with the management’s objective to create the biggest international online learning network and provide genuine comprehensive blended learning services to every school around the globe.

    NetDragon – Industry

    The market for game creation software is expanding rapidly and is predicted to continue doing so over the coming several years. Game development software aids in the creation, monetization, and distribution of video games for the web, desktop and mobile platforms by gaming studios, independent developers, and educational institutions. These software programmes provide extra features including social features, statistics of user activity, and marketing.

    Along with level editing and script compilation, the software tools enable the conversion of 3D textures and models into a game format. It is frequently offered as a pre-packaged software/solution suite that facilitates the creation of 3D, 2D, or both types of games. To help game creators produce material rapidly and effectively, businesses provide platforms or software with a procedural content production feature.

    The global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant effect on a number of businesses. People are spending a lot of time on social media, utilising internet-based calling applications, watching material, and playing games as a result of lockdowns in many different nations. The use of better applications and services may become more popular in the long run as a result of this transformation.

    The pandemic has had a beneficial effect on the game development software sector since online gaming is becoming more and more popular all over the world. Companies that create mobile games are encouraging consumers to remain inside. During this season, game developers spend a lot of effort creating new games and updating their already current games.

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    NetDragon – Headquarters

    NetDragon Websoft Headquarters Inspired by Star Trek
    NetDragon Websoft Headquarters Inspired by Star Trek 

    There are some crazed “Star Trek” fans throughout the world, but the NetDragon Websoft office in China takes fanaticism to a whole different extreme. Since Dejian, the creator of NetDragon, is reportedly a major “Star Trek” fan, the company’s headquarters is designed to resemble an Enterprise of the same. Dejian graduated from the University of Kansas and is on the board of directors for the Chinese online giant Baidu.

    NetDragon – Founder

    In 1999, Dr. Liu Dejian founded NetDragon Websoft.

    Dr. Liu Dejian, the founder and chairman of NetDragon, committed $500,000 to build the centre and fund preliminary operations. The money came from one of the numerous businesses he controls, Digital Train Limited.

    Liu Dejian

    Dr. Liu Dejian - Founder and Chairman of NetDragon
    Dr. Liu Dejian – Founder and Chairman of NetDragon

    The invention of Disciplined Design Methodology is credited to Dr. Liu. One of China’s top online gaming businesses, NetDragon Websoft Holding Ltd., is founded by him. In 2007, NetDragon Websoft debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Liu received the Special Allowance Expert title from the Chinese State Council in 2015. With more than 65 million registered overseas users, NetDragon has expanded its product line to more than 180 countries and 10 languages under his direction. The largest M&A deal in Chinese internet history at the moment occurred in 2013 when NetDragon announced the sale of its 91 Wireless to Baidu for 1.9 billion USD.

    Liu established Huayu Education in 2010, a NetDragon wholly-owned subsidiary. Huayu combines cutting-edge mobile internet technologies with resources for education from across the world. Huayu focuses on K–12 and ongoing education for students worldwide. Huayu Education just won a Smart Media Award from Academics’ Choice for creating 101 Education, a high-calibre product that makes it easier for instructors to plan courses. Liu has received the highest degree of certification available from the China Association of Science and Technology: senior engineer.

    At Beijing Normal University, he serves as co-dean and chair of the Council for the Smart Learning Institute. He has also been invited to serve as an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he co-teaches a course on Next Generation Design: Methods and Heuristics with Professor Chris Dede.

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    NetDragon – Virtual CEO

    On September 1, 2022, NetDragon Websoft announced its CEO named “Ms Tang Yu”, an artificial intelligence-powered virtual humanoid robot as the Rotating CEO of the firm.

    NetDragon stated that it hopes to “pioneer the use of Artificial Intelligence to alter management teams and catapult production performance to a new level” by placing a virtual humanoid at the top of its C-suite. The virtual robot CEO is a symbol of NetDragon’s “AI + management” methodology and is seen as a significant step toward the organisation’s strategy of becoming a “Metaverse company.”

    Dr. Liu, the founder of NetDragon, claims that the new virtual robot CEO is no joke. She is a component of his company’s current acceptance of the potential tomorrow.

    “We believe AI is the future of corporate management, and our appointment of Ms. Tang Yu represents our commitment to truly embrace the use of AI to transform the way we operate our business, and ultimately drive our future strategic growth,” Dr. Liu said in a statement.

    Ms. Tang Yu has certain tasks, which NetDragon has outlined.

    “She will streamline process flow, enhance quality of work tasks, and improve speed of execution,” the company said. She’ll also serve as a “real-time data hub and analytical tool to support rational decision-making in daily operations,” while enabling a more effective risk management system. She’s also expected to play a critical role in the “development of talents and ensuring a fair and efficient workplace for all employees.”

    The company hasn’t yet unveiled a physical representation of Ms. Tang Yu. In accordance with a statement from the firm, Tang Yu will enhance decision-making during regular business operations and offer a better approach to risk management. She will serve the board as genuine analytics software and the database server as well. Other responsibilities of Tang Yu include ensuring that the staff work in a fair atmosphere.

    Ms. Tang Yu “will enable us to attract a much broader base of talents worldwide and put us in a position to achieve bigger goals,” Dr. Liu said.

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    NetDragon – Startup Story

    In China’s internet gaming and internet sectors, NetDragon is a key pioneer and guiding genius. It was founded in 1999 and is a leader in cutting-edge Research and innovation as well as a vertically integrated MMORPG developer and operator. In 2002, the firm released “Monster & Me,” their first independently developed online game. Other releases included “Eudemons Online,” “Conquer Online,” and “Zero Online.”

    Meanwhile, the firm has consecutively released a range of mobile games, including “War of Gods,” “Warring States,” and “Crazy Horde,” drawing on their years of expertise in R&D and game operation. They were also China’s first company to directly operate titles in foreign markets, doing so in English, Arabic, Spanish, and other languages starting in 2003.

    Over the years, NetDragon has established a track record of success, incubating online gaming and mobile internet ventures, including the largest and most prominent smartphone service platform in China, 91 Wireless, and the No. 1 Chinese online game portal, 17173.com.

    NetDragon – Mission and Vision

    NetDragon’s mission statement says, ” to promote education development and innovation in the internet and mobile education industry.”

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    NetDragon – Business and Revenue Model

    NetDragon Websoft Revenue Growth (FY20-FY21)
    NetDragon Websoft Revenue Growth (FY20-FY21)

    NetDragon’s business and revenue model is divided into four segments: –

    • Gaming – In House Game & Engine Development, Oversea Marketing, and Game License
    • Mobile – 91 Open Mobile Platform, Application Development
    • Innovation – 91kt.com (with Cartoon Network), Digital Publishing, Outsource Platform
    • Education – Education sites, Education e-books and apps, Mobile School

    In 2021, the company’s revenue increased by 14.6% YoY, reaching $1.01 billion (RMB7.0 billion) as both gaming and education businesses continued to grow strongly. The company’s revenue from the games business stood at $525 million (RMB3.6 billion) and revenue from the education business was recorded to be $466 million (RMB3.2 billion).

    NetDragon – Education

    In an effort to create “the greatest learning community internationally,” NetDragon Websoft began becoming involved in education in 2010. Among the purchases the company has made in this area are:

    • The establishment of the UNT-NetDragon Digital Research Centre through a collaboration with the University of North Texas.
    • On April 8, 2018, NetDragon purchased Edmodo.
    • On July 3, 2017, NetDragon made the announcement that it has purchased JumpStart Games, an American publisher of educational software.
    • Additionally, in 2015, NetDragon purchased a 100% share in the UK-listed Promethean Limited.

    The company’s education revenue in 2021 increased by 32.2% YoY. This was the highest growth that the company had seen in the past four years.

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    NetDragon – Employees

    • Ben Yam – Chief Financial Officer
    • Hongmin Zhang – Brand Director
    • Maggie Zhou – Senior Director of Investor Relations
    • Tammy Fu – Director of Strategy and Business Development
    • Christina Jin – Sale Manager
    • Chuck Huang – UE Section Manager
    • Edmodo Classroom – Production Manager
    • Justin Chen – Senior Design Manager
    • Romeo Hong – Senior Manager of Strategy and Business Development
    • Susan Jiang – Senior Manager

    NetDragon – Funding and Investors

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Feb 8, 2015 Post-IPO-Equity $52.2M IDG Capital
    Jan 1, 2007 Series B – –
    Oct 1, 2004 Series A $2M IDG Capital

    NetDragon – Investments

    Date Organization Name Round Amount
    Sep 1, 2022 Rokid Venture Round $40M
    Nov 15, 2018 Anhui Xueyun Education Technology Corporate Round –

    NetDragon – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name About Acquiree Date Amount
    Edmodo Edmodo is a global education network that connects all learners with the people and resources they need to reach their full potential. Apr 8, 2018 $137.5M
    JumpStart JumpStart creates a virtual environment that fosters education for children and families. Jun 3, 2017 –
    cherrypicks alpha cherrypicks alpha is a Hong Kong-based mobile developer specialising in disruptive online-to-offline mobile marketing platforms. Apr 25, 2016 $6M
    Promethean Promethean delivers interactive learning technology, creating innovative education solutions, and virtual classroom solutions. Nov 3, 2015 $130M
    ChiVox Co., Ltd. ChiVox Co., Ltd. is an intelligent voice and speech technology provider in China. Jun 4, 2015 –
    Fujian TianDi Fujian TianDi is a 3D Technology company. May 7, 2010 –

    NetDragon – Competitors

    NetEase, Sohu, Jagex, Voodoo, and the Dyrt are potential competitors for NetDragon Websoft.

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    NetDragon – Future Plans

    To imagine modern technologies without artificial intelligence would not make much sense. Therefore, Dr. Liu, the company’s originator, highlights the significance of this upswing in the business.

    According to Dr. Liu, the firm thinks artificial intelligence is the future of corporate leadership. The firm’s hiring of Ms. Tang Yu demonstrates its resolve to really adopt the application of AI to modify the way we run our organisation and eventually drive our appropriate development and growth.

    As they gradually transition to a metaverse-based working community, he said that he is looking ahead and the firm will continue to expand on its algorithms behind Tang Yu to build a fully accessible, engaging, and highly transparent management system, which will enable everyone to attract a much broader base of skills and abilities globally and set the team up to accomplish higher ambitions.

    FAQs

    What is NetDragon?

    NetDragon is a publicly traded company based in China that develops and operates online and mobile games as well as educational platforms. Its games include web-based games, mobile games, PC games, and e-sports games.

    Where is NetDragon located?

    NetDragon Websoft has its headquarters in Fuzhou, China.

    Who is the CEO of NetDragon?

    On September 1, 2022, NetDragon Websoft named “Ms Tang Yu”, an artificial intelligence-powered virtual humanoid robot as the Rotating CEO of the firm. NetDragon Websoft is the first company in the world to have appointed an AI-powered female bot as its CEO.

    Who owns net dragon?

    Dr. Liu Dejian is the founder and chairman of NetDragon. He provided $500,000 to build the centre and fund the preliminary operations of the company. The money came from one of the numerous businesses he controls, Digital Train Limited.

    Which games are offered by NetDragon?

    NetDragon’s games portfolio consists of a wide range of games that interest various kinds of players. These include Way of the Five, Zero Online, Conquer Online, Eudemons Online, and Heroes of Might & Magic Online.

    How much did Edmodo sell for?

    NetDragon Websoft, a Chinese holding company bought Edmodo, one of the largest online communities for students and teachers in the world for $137.5 million in April 2018.

  • List of Subsidiaries & Acquisitions of Ubisoft

    Ubisoft, headquartered in Montreuil-sous-Bois, France, is a well-known video game developer and publisher. In 1986, a group of five brothers established the company. Yves Guillemot, one of the five brothers, is the corporation’s chairman and CEO. There are 26 studios in 18 countries that make up the organisation.

    Ubisoft also launched its own production business, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, in 2011. The primary goal is to make movies based on their games. Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Paris, and Ubisoft Toronto are among the company’s many in-house studios. Massive Entertainment, Red Storm Entertainment, Reflections Interactives, and FreeStyleGames are among the studios that the business has acquired. The various studios of the organisation collaborate and work on projects together.

    Ubisoft has a large number of subsidiaries, which has helped the company grow into a video gaming behemoth. To begin with, what is a subsidiary? Any independent company that is more than 50% owned by another company is referred to as a subsidiary. A wholly-owned subsidiary is one in which all of the company’s shares are owned 100%. Marvel Entertainment, for example, is wholly owned by Walt Disney Entertainment.

    Now that we understand what a subsidiary is, let’s take a look at all the subsidiaries of Ubisoft.

    1. Blue Mammoth Games
    2. Hybrid Technologies
    3. Quazal
    4. Red Storm Entertainment
    5. Ubisoft CRC (NCSA)
    6. Ubisoft Halifax
    7. Ubisoft Montreal
    8. Ubisoft Quebec
    9. Ubisoft Saguenay
    10. Ubisoft San Francisco
    11. Ubisoft Sherbrooke
    12. Ubisoft Toronto
    13. Ubisoft Winnipeg
    14. 1492 Studio
    15. Future Games of London
    16. Green Panda Games
    17. Ivory Tower
    18. Ketchapp
    19. Kolibri Games
    20. Massive Entertainment
    21. Nadeo
    22. Owlient
    23. Ubisoft RedLynx
    24. Ubisoft Barcelona
    25. Ubisoft Belgrade
    26. Ubisoft Blue Byte
    27. Ubisoft Bordeaux
    28. Ubisoft Bucharest
    29. Ubisoft Kyiv
    30. Ubisoft Leamington
    31. Ubisoft Milan
    32. Ubisoft Montpellier
    33. Ubisoft Odessa
    34. Ubisoft Paris
    35. Ubisoft Reflections
    36. Ubisoft Sofia
    37. Ubisoft Stockholm
    38. Ubisoft Abu Dhabi
    39. Ubisoft Chengdu
    40. Ubisoft Da Nang
    41. Ubisoft Mumbai
    42. Ubisoft Osaka
    43. Ubisoft Philippines
    44. Ubisoft Pune
    45. Ubisoft Shanghai
    46. Ubisoft Singapore

    1. Blue Mammoth Games

    Blue Mammoth Games Logo
    Blue Mammoth Games Logo

    Lincoln Hamilton and Matt Woomer established Blue Mammoth Games in Atlanta, Georgia in 2009. On 1 March 2018, Ubisoft bought Blue Mammoth Games. Brawlhalla is the company’s main game which was developed by Blue Mammoth Games and published by Ubisoft.

    2. Hybride

    Hybride Logo
    Hybride Logo

    Founded in 1991, the company is based in Montreal, Quebec. The company’s main service is creating special effects for movies and games. Ubisoft acquired it in 2008. The studio has worked on a number of films, including Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

    3. Quazal

    Sylvain Beaudry, Martin Lavoie, and Carl Dionne launched the company in 1998 in Montreal, Quebec. Ubisoft announced the acquisition of Quazal on November 4, 2010.

    4. Red Storm Entertainment

    Red Storm Entertainment Logo
    Red Storm Entertainment Logo

    In 1996, novelist Tom Clancy, managing director Steve Reid, and 17 employees launched Red Storm Entertainment in Cary, North Carolina. Ubisoft acquired Red Storm Entertainment in 2000.

    5. Ubisoft CRC (NCSA)

    The Ubisoft Consumer Relationship Center is based in Cary, North Carolina, and provides Customer Support and Community Management for North, Central, and South American areas. It shares the commercial building with Red Storm Entertainment.

    6. Ubisoft Halifax

    Ubisoft Halifax Logo
    Ubisoft Halifax Logo

    Ubisoft Halifax was established in 2009 as a branch of Longtail Studios in New York City, which was created in 2003 by Ubisoft co-founder Gérard Guillemot.

    7. Ubisoft Montreal

    Ubisoft Montreal Logo
    Ubisoft Montreal Logo

    Ubisoft Montreal was founded in 1997 and is based in Montreal, Quebec. Ubisoft Montreal is the company’s largest in-house production studio, and also the world’s largest development studio.

    8. Ubisoft Quebec

    Ubisoft Quebec Logo
    Ubisoft Quebec Logo

    In 2005, Ubisoft Quebec opened its doors in Quebec City. The studio’s purpose was to support Ubisoft’s main studios, as well as support the development of downloadable content for the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

    9. Ubisoft Saguenay

    Ubisoft Saguenay Logo
    Ubisoft Saguenay Logo

    Ubisoft Saguenay started in February 2018 with 20 people, directed by Jimmy Boulianne, and is headquartered in Chicoutimi, Quebec.

    10. Ubisoft San Francisco

    Ubisoft San Francisco Logo
    Ubisoft San Francisco Logo

    In 2009, Ubisoft San Francisco made its debut in San Francisco, California, as part of Ubisoft’s North American headquarters.

    11. Ubisoft Sherbrooke

    Ubisoft Sherbrooke Logo
    Ubisoft Sherbrooke Logo

    In November 2021, Ubisoft Sherbrooke was established in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Ubisoft’s biggest franchises are co-developed by the studio.

    12. Ubisoft Toronto

    Ubisoft Toronto Logo
    Ubisoft Toronto Logo

    Ubisoft Toronto was launched in May 2010 in Toronto, Ontario by Ubisoft. The accomplishments of the Montreal studio inspired Ubisoft to continue its expansion in Canada, which led to the studio’s establishment.

    13. Ubisoft Winnipeg

    Ubisoft Winnipeg Logo
    Ubisoft Winnipeg Logo

    In the year 2018, Ubisoft Winnipeg was established. Ubisoft Winnipeg is a team of developers who work on Ubisoft’s open-world franchise.

    14. 1492 Studio

    Claire and Thibaud Zamora established 1492 Studio in Vailhauquès, France, in 2014. In February 2018, Ubisoft bought the company.

    15. Future Games of London

    Future Games of London Logo
    Future Games of London Logo

    In 2009, Future Games of London was established in London, England. Ubisoft bought the studio in October of 2013.

    16. Green Panda Games

    GreenPanda Games Logo
    GreenPanda Games Logo

    In July 2019, Ubisoft bought a 70% share in Green Panda Games, with the option to buy the firm outright. Green Panda Games, based in Paris, was formed in 2013.

    17. Ivory Tower

    Ivory Tower Logo
    Ivory Tower Logo

    Ahmed Boukhelifa, Stéphane Beley, and Emmanuel Oualid created the Ivory Tower in Lyon, France, in September 2007. Ubisoft bought Ivory Tower in 2015.

    18. Ketchapp

    Ketchapp Logo
    Ketchapp Logo

    Ketchapp was established in 2014 by brothers Michel and Antoine Morcos in Paris, France, with the goal of producing games for the smartphone industry. Ubisoft purchased the company in 2016.

    19. Kolibri Games

    Kolibri Games
    Kolibri Games

    Kolibri Games was created in 2016 in Berlin, Germany. In 2020, Ubisoft bought 75 percent of the studio.

    20. Massive Entertainment

    Massive Entertainment Logo
    Massive Entertainment Logo

    Massive Entertainment was established in Malmö, Sweden, in 1997. Ubisoft purchased it in March 2008.

    21. Nadeo

    Nadeo Logo
    Nadeo Logo

    Florent Castelnérac established Nadeo in the year 2000 in Paris, France. On October 5, 2009, Ubisoft announced that it had acquired Nadeo.

    22. Owlient

    Owlient Logo
    Owlient Logo

    Owlient is a video game company based in Paris, France, that was created in 2005. In 2011, Ubisoft purchased Owlient.

    23. Ubisoft RedLynx

    Redlynx Logo
    Redlynx Logo

    Atte and Antti Ilvessuo started RedLynx in Helsinki, Finland, in 2000. Ubisoft purchased it in November 2011.

    24. Ubisoft Barcelona

    Ubisoft Barcelona Logo
    Ubisoft Barcelona Logo

    Ubisoft Barcelona is situated in Barcelona, Spain, and was established in 1998. It has acted as a support studio and has worked on games like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and Raving Rabbids.

    25. Ubisoft Belgrade

    Ubisoft Belgrade Logo
    Ubisoft Belgrade Logo

    Ubisoft Belgrade was founded in November 2016 in Belgrade, Serbia.

    26. Ubisoft Blue Byte

    Ubisoft Blue Byte Logo
    Ubisoft Blue Byte Logo

    In 1988, Ubisoft Blue Byte was established in Düsseldorf, Germany. Ubisoft purchased Blue Byte in 2001.

    27. Ubisoft Bordeaux

    In September 2017, Ubisoft Bordeaux was established in Bordeaux, France. It works as a supporting unit and works on future releases with the Annecy, Paris, and Montpellier facilities.

    28. Ubisoft Bucharest

    Ubisoft Bucharest Logo
    Ubisoft Bucharest Logo

    Ubisoft Bucharest, situated in Bucharest, Romania, was established in 1992 as the company’s first in-house unit outside of France.

    29. Ubisoft Kyiv

    Ubisoft Kyiv, formerly known as Ubisoft Kyiv, was created in 2008 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

    30. Ubisoft Leamington

    Ubisoft Leamington Logo
    Ubisoft Leamington Logo

    In 2002, Ubisoft Leamington (previously FreeStyleGames) was established in Leamington Spa, England.

    31. Ubisoft Milan

    Ubisoft Milan Logo
    Ubisoft Milan Logo

    Ubisoft Milan was created in Milan, Italy, in 1998. The studio’s first priority was to create handheld games.

    32. Ubisoft Montpellier

    Ubisoft Montpellier, originally Ubi Pictures, was formed in Castelnau-le-Lez, France, in 1994 as one of Ubisoft’s graphics divisions.

    33. Ubisoft Odessa

    Ubisoft Odessa was established in March 2018 in Odessa, Ukraine.

    34. Ubisoft Paris

    Ubisoft Paris was the company’s first in-house studio, established in 1992 in Montreuil, France.

    35. Ubisoft Reflections

    Ubisoft Reflections Logo
    Ubisoft Reflections Logo

    In Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Ubisoft Reflections was created in 1984.

    36. Ubisoft Sofia

    Ubisoft Sofia was established in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2006. The studio was behind the development of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation and Assassin’s Creed Rogue.

    37. Ubisoft Stockholm

    In 2017, Ubisoft Stockholm was established in Stockholm, Sweden. The studio will be working with Massive Entertainment on the next Avatar game.

    38. Ubisoft Abu Dhabi

    Ubisoft Abu Dhabi Logo
    Ubisoft Abu Dhabi Logo

    Ubisoft Abu Dhabi was established in 2011 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with the objective of promoting the country’s computer game sector.

    39. Ubisoft Chengdu

    Ubisoft Chengdu Logo
    Ubisoft Chengdu Logo

    Ubisoft Chengdu, the company’s second studio in China, opened in Chengdu in 2008.

    40. Ubisoft Da Nang

    In September 2019, Ubisoft Da Nang opened its doors in Da Nang, Vietnam.

    41. Ubisoft Mumbai

    Ubisoft Mumbai Logo
    Ubisoft Mumbai Logo

    In June 2018, Ubisoft Mumbai opened its doors, becoming the second studio in India after Ubisoft Pune.

    42. Ubisoft Osaka

    Ubisoft Osaka Logo
    Ubisoft Osaka Logo

    Ubisoft Osaka was formed in Osaka, Japan, and was previously known as Digital Kids. In 2008, Ubisoft purchased it.

    43. Ubisoft Philippines

    Ubisoft Philippines Logo
    Ubisoft Philippines Logo

    The first significant game studio in the Philippines, Ubisoft Philippines, was created in 2016.

    44. Ubisoft Pune

    Ubisoft Pune Logo
    Ubisoft Pune Logo

    Ubisoft Pune, which is located in Pune, India, was previously owned by Gameloft, a mobile game developer and publisher until it was purchased by Ubisoft in 2008.

    45. Ubisoft Shanghai

    Ubisoft Shanghai Logo
    Ubisoft Shanghai Logo

    Ubisoft Shanghai was established in 1996 in Shanghai and has since grown to be one of the country’s largest developers.

    46. Ubisoft Singapore

    Ubisoft Singapore Logo
    Ubisoft Singapore Logo

    Ubisoft Singapore, based on the Fusionopolis complex in Singapore, was established in 2008 as Ubisoft’s first in-house studio in South-East Asia.

    Conclusion

    In the video game industry, Ubisoft is a household name. They’ve created some of the most well-known video games of all time. With so many brilliant firms under its belt, Ubisoft will continue to release new projects in order to remain competitive.

    FAQs

    What software does Ubisoft use?

    Ubisoft’s primary source control tool has been Helix Core.

    What engines does Ubisoft use?

    Ubisoft uses its proprietary Snowdrop Engine.

    Is Ubisoft a developer or publisher?

    Ubisoft is a publisher and developer headquartered in Montreuil.

  • Evolution of Gaming Industry: History, Present & Future [Case Study]

    Real-life can be boring. If you are someone who is a student, or a working professional, life can be pretty repetitive. Thus, not only students and employees, everyone is looking for a fun way to go through the day. We try to find a good escape from time to time. This is an article about the most famous escape that people follow to get through their hours.

    Moreover, as computers are getting smaller and smaller, almost to the size of our palms. We can see a surge in mobile gamers as well. This slope is likely not to go down with time, it has only risen from the past. Go to YouTube and search any game, you will see a plethora of streamers making their content around games. This is how creators go on about making their brand.

    The Increasing Gaming Fad
    Gaming as a Profitable Business
    The History of the Gaming Industry
    The Present of the Gaming Industry
    Future of the Gaming Industry
    Is Gaming a Viable Career Option?
    FAQ

    The Increasing Gaming Fad

    Young population

    If you Google, what is the average age in India, you will get the result as 28.4 years. This tells us that India is a supremely youthful nation. Youngblood is known to have a new way of looking at things. As they occupy the most population, we can see a large number of people, who are rethinking career options. Traditional careers are a thing of the past now.

    Gaming is Fun

    Come on, I didn’t think much before writing this point. Gaming is fun. How many of us have played Mario, Contra, or Road rash in our childhood. Who does not know about Pacman? even grandmas know about Candy Crush.

    You must be living under a rock in a village if you haven’t heard about these names before. The fact that gaming is fun, makes it accessible to all of the generations. If you are 5 or your age is 55, games will find a soft spot in your heart. They are the perfect water for quenching your adrenaline rush.

    The Required Technological Boost

    India is bullish on the tech revolution. This is actually an understatement, as it is already happening. We all are seeing a boom in the tech sector. As the boom rises on many scales it is seen that tech is becoming more and more accessible. As I say accessible, I also mean that technology is getting economical and cheaper for everyone. This leaves people with more tech in their hands, and with more time comes more games. Thus, more gamers.

    Gaming as a Profitable Business

    Gaming is not just a harmless time pass, it is an extremely profitable business too. It is so profitable that it is regarded as having more dense profits than the global box office and global music business. Let us discuss the past and present of this field. Then we will ascertain if this is a viable career option or not. Read on to know.

    The History of the Gaming Industry

    The history of video games started as early as the 1950s. They were at the very inception were just seen as a recreational activity. Computer engineers made them kill time. One such engineer and inventor thought of lifting the whole game by making these games mainstream. His name was Ralph Baer.

    Ralph Baer
    Ralph Baer

    Baer is considered the inventor of video games, especially the concept of TV consoles. He one day started to think about the possibility of playing games on a television screen. As television sets were becoming more affordable in his home country, Baer saw an opportunity. An opportunity to make games more than just time pass. To give them the honour that they deserve, according to him. He always wanted games to be in the mainstream rather than on the sidelines of everyday life.

    He used to work at an American defence company when he got the idea. It was just another fantasy at that time. Baer was serious and stepped up to invent something for the first time. He made a brown box. Well, not so ordinary brown box but a gaming TV console. Being the first of its kind, people went frenzy over it. Now, the box may seem pretty simple but back then it was the best thing for somebody to own. It launched its first game named “Magnavox Odyssey”. 130,000 units were sold in its very first 12 months.

    Magnavox Odyssey
    Magnavox Odyssey

    From the year 1972 to 1981, more or less about ten different consoles were being traded in the market. Each of them was inspired by the first console ever ‘the brown box’. Famous names popped in the market like – Atari, Farichild channel F, Bally Astrocade, Mattel Intellivision, and the likes.

    This was the time when the gaming market was booming to the brim. This happened also to be the time when Nintendo entered this hot market. Nintendo came and took the market by storm with a legendary game called ‘Mario’. Nintendo before that was purely focused on playing cards but then shifted its main focus to the video gaming industry. Mario was the game that took the whole market by a tornado. It instantly became a fashion among young people, to collect Mario cassettes.

    Super Mario
    Super Mario Bros

    Even to this day, Mario is the best selling franchise in the world, with over 670 million in sales. It is truly fascinating and followed by Tetris with and Pokémon sales as 495 and 368 million of sales revenue. Then came another legendary Road Rash by Electronic Arts, Sonic the hedgehog, Streetfighter, Tetris and the market barometer was knocked out of the park.

    Every company was trying to get a slice of the cake of the video gaming industry. Microsoft added games to its windows, Sony jumped into the scenario too, with PlayStation. PlayStation is the most sold gaming console in the whole world, with over 430 million in sales.

    2020 Global Games Market
    2020 Global Games Market

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    The Present of the Gaming Industry

    In 2019 the gaming industry at the global level was marked at a valuation of 151 billion dollars. That is literally 7 times the GDP of Afghanistan. In the pandemic year 2020, nearly 2.7 billion people were into gaming, that is a good chunk of the whole population.

    Not only that, games are not just personal time-passes now. It is a national time pass now, yes, we do have gaming world cups. First held in 2019, with an audience of 23,000. The prize of that Fortnite World Cup was 3 Million dollars, which in every sense is pretty huge.

    Fortnite World Cup
    Fortnite World Cup

    Gamers are celebrated as celebrities, they have a fan following of thousands and even millions. Moreover, they are just teenagers and young adults. In this age, having a fan following in millions is a huge milestone in itself. Not only people, Brands to are going frenzy over deals. They are tapping into game development companies to make characters that promote brand names.

    Brands like Adidas, Puma, Louis Vuitton have collaborated with game makers to make characters exclusive wearing their signature suits. This proves how rooted and widespread this industry has become.

    Adidas Collaboration with Popular Fortnite Youtuber - Ninja
    Adidas Collaboration with Popular Fortnite Youtuber – Ninja

    Then too, games are not even leaving the movie and film space, they are woven into stories and made into films for fans all over the world. Movies like Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Need For Speed, Tekken etc. are blockbusters to name a few. Movies like these do very well with gamers and to add to the spice, it increases game sales revenue.

    India has not grown into a hub yet but is showing signs of untapped potential. Despite being a young nation, we have not yet made expected space in this domain. According to a report, there were about 120 million gamers online in 2016 and on average each spent 42 minutes every single day on games. This really proves that India has great potential but is lagging in some sense. Right now this is not a structured industry in India. It can be and surely more or less, it will be in the future.

    In our country, India, gamers mostly are skewed to the content side. They are more like content creators on YouTube. They mix gameplays with their commentary and pop culture references to fetch some subscribers, which in turn make them a little famous and get them brand deals.

    So again, India is not structured as we see with the lens of gaming. It is varied in dimensions and it lacks clarity. However it is always changing and refuses to be constant, it is becoming better and better. With games like Free Fire and top game brands organizing tournaments and championships, gamers are forecasted to grow. It will take some time to actually be in the line with global standards, but it is surely on the right path to it.

    The Expected Future of the Gaming Industry

    What the future of this industry will look like is yet to be seen and only time will tell how many other industries it will affect. It is already so big at the global level that it combines the film and music industry in it totally and completely. Indian gamers have to wait a bit on being professional gamers but if you want to work in-game building, there is enough space for you.

    With tournaments and championships being hosted by brands every other day, like Free Fire, we will see surges in this space. As the Indian gaming industry goes from being unorganized to an organized sector, we will see many gamer professionals. They will be treated like athletes in future global championships and as always hopes remain high with India.

    Is Gaming a Viable Career Option?

    When we talk about gaming, it is not just playing but it also includes much more. Things like game building, game designing, game animation, game programming also come into subsets. All these can be a career choice and you can train in them professionally.

    When it comes to people who want to play games, then the hard truth is that you need to build an audience for yourself. You need to create a name and some sort of fame for yourself. You need to work a lot on your gaming skills, not just that if you are someone who wants to face a competitive gaming field, then you have to train even harder.

    A good thing is that creating an audience is much easier in this world now. You can create a YouTube channel and get going with a nice PC or a console. You can work on your branding with tools available for free online. But the main thing is that you are on your own. You need to do whatever, will enhance you as a gamer or a public figure. This way is uncertain for sure but if you can make it work its a great career option. All you need is a nice beast PC, a console and the undying will to take over the whole world, more or less.

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    Conclusion

    Deriving a conclusion is hard on this topic as it is constantly evolving. Getting better and bigger not only in the world’s top countries but in India too, which is seen as a developing country. One thing can be said with surety that India has potential. With the right direction and a little more added fuel, it can go to the stars.

    Being a gamer can be hard in India but the domain has many edges, you can build games, programme them, make them big and much more. You can get professional training in all these above-mentioned fields.

    FAQ

    What is the gaming industry worth?

    The global gaming market was valued at USD 173.70 billion in 2020.

    The Biggest Video Game Companies in the World are Sony, Tencent, Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Epic Games.

    Does gaming have a future in India?

    Yes, the Indian gaming industry is growing at a fast pace and is expected to generate $2 billion by 2023.

  • PokerDangal – India’s Largest Online Poker Gaming Platform

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by PokerDangal.

    One great aspect of digitization is the fascinating online games that are taking on the world at a skyrocketing speed. It’s literally like being in this global village of the dream world. To make the online gaming zone more interesting and taking it on the edge, this group of four brilliant entrepreneurs namely Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Karan Gandhi and Shashwat Jain launched PokerDangal in the year 2017.

    PokerDangal – Company Highlights

    Startup Name PokerDangal
    Headquarters Delhi
    Founders Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Karan Gandhi and Shashwat Jain
    Sector Online Gaming
    Founded 2017
    Parent Organization Xeta Networks Pvt. Ltd.
    Website pokerdangal.com

    About PokerDangal and How It Works
    PokerDangal – Industry Details
    PokerDangal – Founders and Team
    How was PokerDangal Started?
    PokerDangal – Name, Tagline and Logo
    PokerDangal – Startup Launch
    PokerDangal – USP and Innovation
    PokerDangal – Business Model and Revenue Model
    PokerDangal – Startup Challenges
    PokerDangal – Funding and Investors
    PokerDangal – Acquisitions and Mergers
    PokerDangal – Competitors
    PokerDangal – Growth
    PokerDangal – FAQs

    About PokerDangal and How It Works

    PokerDangal is an Indian online poker gaming platform. It is the flagship product of Xeta Networks Pvt Ltd, an online gaming company from Hatu, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The game, as goes its title, is a poker game, developed with an aim to redefine Poker in India. PokerDangal was founded in 2017 by Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, and two other co-founders, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi. PokerDangal is currently registered in Kolkata and headquartered in New Delhi. It also has small offices in Kolkata and Chennai as well.

    On www.pokerdangal.com, the users can opt to play a range of exciting tournaments and cash games in a safe game-playing environment.

    PokerDangal is available for desktop users, along with the users of Android and iOS, where they can play three variations of poker:

    • Texas Hold’em Poker, the most popular of the variations in the world
    • Four card pot limit Omaha
    • Five card pot limit Omaha.

    Though the four card pot limit Omaha was already there even before PokerDangal, the five card pot limit Omaha was first introduced by PokerDangal, which has gone on to become the most favourite variation of poker on the platform now. The fast speed and the wide range of probabilities and possibilities are some of the factors that distinguish the five card variation from the rest.

    “It appeals to the statistical and analytical abilities in people,” said Varun.

    While playing any of the three variants of the poker matches in PokerDangal, the players can choose to play individual cash games or get involved in a tournament. Emotional control, analytical ability and strategy are 3 important characteristics that define a good player from the other players.

    The online is at par with the physical game in nearly all thinkable aspects. However, there are only a couple of differences that exist between a physical game and the online PokerDangal. For instance, a player can change his/her strategy when playing a physical game of poker based on the observations from the other players. Another point of difference is that while on a physical game of poker an individual can concentrate only on one game whereas on online PokerDangal he/she can play multiple games together.

    The guiding principle of PokerDangal is to enrich the online gaming industry in India along with extending a safe, reliable, and fun ecosystem for the players of the country.

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    PokerDangal – Industry Details

    The online gaming industry is a brilliant example of a flourishing industry. With the emergence of fantasy gaming platforms and other gaming brands offering a wide range of games of varied nature to the audiences, the gaming industry looks at a bright future ahead.

    The Indian online gaming sector has already reached $1.027 billion in 2020, which stood at around $543 million only in 2016, thereby showing a growth of ~17.3%. The current trajectory that it is exhibiting now would make the industry climb to $2 billion by 2023. Furthermore, the number of online gamers in India, which currently stands at 360 million, is estimated to grow to 510 million by 2022.

    The online poker games, holding the hands of PokerDangal, have already started to disrupt the online gaming industry of India with huge potential.

    How to earn money from online poker games in India

    PokerDangal – Founders and Team

    Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi founded PokerDangal in the year 2017.

    The Xeta Networks and PokerDangal founding team.
    The Xeta Networks and PokerDangal founding team.

    Varun Mahna, Founder & CEO – Varun pursued his MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and graduated in B.E Computer Science from BITS Pilani. Before PokerDangal, he was in the position of HR Lead at Star Sports.

    Varun Puri, Founder & COO – Varun Puri holds a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani. This is not his first time being an entrepreneur. His first venture was Neevtech India which is a leading exporter of agricultural machinery to Europe.

    Shashwat Jain, Co-Founder & CTO – Shashwat did his Engineering from IIT Dhanbad and has headed the position of VP Analytics for quite a few ventures like Box8, Amazon, Mu Sigma, etc.

    Karan Gandhi, Co-Founder – Karan holds a degree in B.Com from Delhi University and has previously worked in big brands like Zomato and NDTV.

    Currently, PokerDangal has a team of 25 people with the key members being Manan Sobti, Sahil Parakh, Anurag Upadhyay and Akshat Bharadwaj. This team is a close-knit unit with zero attrition in the last 2.5 years.

    How was PokerDangal Started?

    Varun Mahna, the founder of PokerDangal, was a student of BITS Pilani when he was first introduced to poker in 2005. Varun and his friend Varun Puri joined various poker groups and enjoyed playing poker during their university days.

    Varun next joined XLRI Jamshedpur, where poker was again a favourite. With the passage of days, Varun’s love for the game only grew. He then went on to join Star Sports and this is the first time when his attention was drawn towards online poker.

    Varun soon found his interest in online poker and switched to the online form of the game. Online poker was yet a new concept back then but had the potential to disrupt the gaming industry. To leverage this opportunity, Varun decided to found his own company along with his engineering batchmate Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain, Karan Gandhi under the name Xeta Networks, the parent company of PokerDangal, which eventually gave rise to the latter.

    The founders and co-founders together invested close to Rs. 30 lakhs from their personal savings and initially started working from a friend’s house.

    PokerDangal logo
    PokerDangal logo

    The PokerDangal team wanted a catchy name and the one that signified high octane action. The founders turned to be big fans of Bollywood and the movie Dangal inspired them to get an apt name for their gaming startup. There’s a line in the movie that says that “Dangal is not only a physical battle but also a mind game where one has to out-think their opponent.” That is what stayed with the founders and that’s how they decided to call the platform PokerDangal, as it is a mental duel.

    The tagline of PokerDangal is ‘Where Skills Meet Fortune’, which is built with an endeavour of redefining Poker in India. Besides, they also use #AbDangalHoga, which is again inspired by Dangal.

    The logo is a thoughtful mixture of acute sumo who is ready for a battle. It is coloured in a mixture of blue and white and is ingeniously crafted where a silhouette of a sumo wrestler is embedded on one of the chips of poker along with containing the initials of PokerDangal “PD”.

    PokerDangal – Startup Launch

    “We provide an online poker platform available on iOS, Google Play Store and Desktop versions for the users. A user can download our app, create their account, complete their KYC and profile and start playing at a time and place of their convenience.” says the founder proudly.

    Interestingly, users can also deposit and withdraw money in their bank accounts. The business of online gaming is differentiated on customer acquisition, customer retention and customer engagement. With PokerDangal’s core strengths of understanding user behaviour, data analytics, and operational excellence, the tea was able to outpace the market on each of these 3 levels. The prime success in this business depends on how well is the CAC: LTV optimized.

    Since its inception, the team has made major changes to the product and the way they conduct business. The product has been upgraded multiple times post the feedback from the users. Also, they have consistently integrated the feedback to create a better product and this is an ongoing process.

    “From a policy point, we made a big change in April 2018 when we introduced instant cash-out on the platform. A user can withdraw their money 24/7/365 and the money hits the bank account in less than 10 seconds,” said Varun Mahna.

    PokerDangal – USP and Innovation

    The USP of PokerDangal lies in the fact that the platform takes an interest to popularise poker in India and serves as a safe, interesting, and rewarding gaming platform for the existing poker players of the country.

    PokerDangal was the first platform to introduce the five card pot limit Omaha. Furthermore, it also serves as a platform that allows the players to play at multiple tables simultaneously.

    PokerDangal – Business Model and Revenue Model

    PokerDangal has mainly 2 revenue streams.

    1. The first revenue stream is from the tournaments the platform conducts. They charge a 10% service fee on the entry fee for a tournament.
    2. The second revenue stream is from the cash tables, where the platform charges a 3-4% service fee on the amount wagered by the users on the tables.

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    PokerDangal – Startup Challenges

    The toughest part for PokerDangal was for them to sustain the concurrent traffic on the platform. To make this happen, they came up with a brilliant “refer a friend” program which fueled the traction and incentivized players to refer their friends to play on the PokerDangal platform. Poker as a game is typically learned and played in a group and hence each user on the platform had a circle which the team leveraged to its benefit with this campaign.

    So ideally PokerDangal made its users its brand ambassadors where they were getting tremendous value to refer their friends as well. Refer a friend as a marketing tool has multiple benefits – it is relatively cheap and it creates a very positive brand image for the consumers being referred. For the initial months, spends on this campaign were very limited but the team did a lot of strategic tie-ups to ensure that they are reaching out to the target consumers most effectively. As a part of the plan, they also tied up with some of the top B-schools and Engineering colleges in the country and promoted PokerDangal during their annual festivals and meets. Interestingly, those partnerships are still in place and PokerDangal is now the official gaming partner for colleges like XLRI, MDI, etc.

    Also, one of the most challenging parts was when PokerDangal was just 6 months old and wanted to raise some funds to scale the business operations. The founder team identified that to sustain in the industry it is important to hasten their user acquisition which in turn required a significant spend. So they decided to reach out to a few angel investors to understand the sentiments about the industry and they got a lot of positive responses from the people whom they reached out to. And they were finally funded by an angel investor in July 2018.

    PokerDangal’s biggest success was successfully implementing instant cash-outs which allows the users to withdraw their winnings in just 30 seconds to their bank accounts 24/7. This strategic shift was a huge change in the way the team conducted the business operations.

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    PokerDangal – Funding and Investors

    PokerDangal has raised a total of Rs. 7.30 crores in its latest funding round. The funding stabilized PokerDangal and helped in scaling the operations optimally.

    Date Deal Type Amount
    Jan 2021 Series A Rs. 7.30 Crores
    Aug 2018 Angel Investors –

    PokerDangal – Acquisitions and Mergers

    In the first year, PokerDangal acquired a struggling poker platform named PokerMet. The team acquired PokerMet’s user base, assets and merged its operations with PokerDangal.

    PokerDangal – Competitors

    Some of the big players in this segment are Adda52, Pocket52, and PokerStars. The sector is very cut-throat and one has to be on their toes to stay competitive. The focus on providing a delightful customer experience is a key differentiator for this online gaming business. The users need a platform where they have complete faith and hence it is important to be transparent in the policies and actions. PokerDangal is amongst one of the firms to have the best customer support system and that was the key to their growth. Also, this was the first company in the country to introduce instant cash-out and 5 cards PLO which are hugely popular with the user base.  

    PokerDangal – Growth

    • The registered user base of more than 2,00,000 players.
    • A monthly deposit of more than INR 4.9 Crores.
    • The business saw a 14x growth over the last 12 months.
    • The average monthly turnover is INR 60 Crores.
    • The monthly revenue clocked in October 2019 was INR 2.5 Crores.
    • Tagged as an EBITDA positive company.
    • Amongst the top 4 real money poker sites.
    • PokerDangal is about to enter the fantasy/rummy business.

    PokerDangal – FAQs

    Who are the Founders of PokerDangal?

    Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi founded PokerDangal in the year 2017.

    What does PokerDangal Offer?

    PokerDangal offers a plethora of exciting tournaments and cash games to the players who want to put their skills to test in online Poker.

    How much is PokerDangal Funding to date?

    PokerDangal has raised a total of Rs. 7.30 crores in its series A funding round.

    How much is PokerDangal’s Turnover?

    A monthly deposit of more than INR 4.9 Crores. The business saw a 14x growth over the last 12 months. The average monthly turnover is INR 60 Crores. The monthly revenue clocked in October 2019 was INR 2.5 Crores.

  • Whomp – Live Gaming Platform for Cricket Enthusiasts

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Whomp.

    Time and again, an app comes into play that floods up the market share. Online fantasy sports and e-gaming has become more common in the last 2 decades and shockingly it has secured top gear in India. Ever since the pandemic, sports events have been put on a halt, the mass have shifted themselves towards the exciting world of online gaming.

    Online fantasy gaming is the only feature in the gaming sector where a user can play any number of sports with their friends whilst communicating with them in real-time. It’s obvious that online fantasy sports startups have been a boon to all of the gamers and even, non-gamers too. Whomp is a live cricket gaming app, where users can play a live auction in a gaming format.

    Read on to know more about The Whomp company profile below!

    Whomp – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Whomp
    Headquarter Ahmedabad
    Founder Varun Gajjar
    Sector Gaming
    Founding Year 2020
    Website link whomp.in
    Registered Entity Name Whomp Pvt. Limited

    Whomp – About and How It Works
    Whomp – Founder
    How Whomp Started?
    Whomp – Name, Logo and Tagline
    Whomp – Vision and Mission
    Whomp – Target Market Size
    Whomp – Products/ Services
    Whomp – Startup Launch
    Whomp – Business and Revenue Model
    Whomp – Competitors
    Whomp – Challenges
    Whomp – Coupon Code/ Offers
    Whomp – Future Plans
    Whomp – FAQs

    Whomp – About and How It Works

    One gaming app hit the market and BAM! There is no way that the app is going down. One such app for every Indian comes to life now. It allows its users to play cricket games and also, they can communicate with their friends simultaneously while enjoying real cricket auction.

    Whomp is an interactive gaming platform where every cricket fan can play and experience a live auction. The Indian gaming industry has started to boom in the startup culture. It has been observed that cricket games are played by 74% of gamers on fantasy gaming apps over any other sports.

    Fantasy sports platforms could potentially be considered as a means for earning increments by comparatively lower income groups, leading to an increased engagement on the platform.

    Whomp – Founder

    The Whomp gaming app is founded by Varun Gajjar.

    Varun Gajjar is the sole founder of Whomp, with a strong supporting team. He has done his Masters in Business from Monash University, Australia. Till his Post education he has worked in his family’s company – Varuna Pumps, which started in 1935. He worked as the Head of Sales & Marketing for 8 years, handling a team of 180 persons across 18 offices with an export business to more than 50 countries.

    After this, he joined in as an investor in Gamerji: an eSports tournament platform where there are daily matches conducted for games such as Clash Royale, Call of Duty, Free Fire etc. Being a part of the gaming business and community, he has learned many aspects of running a gaming platform. This not only provided him with the foundation and understanding knowledge of the industry but inspired him to launch his own gaming company – Whomp.

    The hiring funda is simple, candidates for management positions are from top-grade universities like IIT and the one’s in the task-based departments have young local talents. The ‘young local talents’ previously have never received the opportunity to lead, so the company intends to give them that.

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    How Whomp Started?

    It was a Eureka moment when the idea got hit at the time of IPL Auction. Varun and his friends used to play a friendly auction during the IPL season. The fun part was, that they would use chits and maintain excel spreadsheets for the scores. Whilst playing this way, they thought that why not create an app that can have a live auction in a gaming format. And that’s where the original idea struck.

    Further working on this, they researched it well and realized a similar model is played in the USA for the NFL draft, so taking important insights from it, they created their first prototype. After seeing the initial success, they launched the product. During the COVID-19 pandemic and series of endless lockdowns, there was a complete halt on

    all sporting activities and he quite missed talking to friends. This is when; they started using HouseParty app, and taking inspiration from that, they thought of a format where players can talk to their friends through the app to discuss the game.

    Whomp – Name, Logo and Tagline

    Whomp- Name, Logo and Tagline
    Whomp- Name, Logo and Tagline

    WHOMP pronounced as /wɒmp/ and the name means strike heavily or a thump. As the name already sounds so cool, everyone liked it and hence named the app. Also, it is short and easy to pronounce. The Whomp logo is inspired by the colour of a trophy or a gold medal, to showcase winning.

    Whomp – Vision and Mission

    Whomp keeps up with the mission to create a gaming app for cricket and sports fans, by giving them a platform to play as well as to communicate with their friends online, while enjoying real cricket action. The short-term vision is to acquire 3 lakhs + users by the end of this cricket season. The company strongly believes that to keep the user engaged, they have to give ‘one of a kind’ user experience to users by the introducing new games and updates in every couple of months.

    Whomp – Target Market Size

    The gaming industry in India is growing rapidly. According to a Google-KPMG report, the Indian online gaming segment is to reach $1.1 billion by 2021. India is also among the top five mobile gaming markets in the world, with around 300 million gamers. Also, BofA securities recent report has stated that India’s gaming user base will reach 486 million by 2022.

    With mobile phone and internet penetration and rise in interest towards gaming, it can be seen that the mobile gaming industry will be growing stupendously in the next decade.

    Whomp – Products/ Services

    Presently the platform has the Live Fantasy Auction game and shortly it will have 2 other games, Super Selector and Daily Dabba.

    The feature that differentiates Whomp from other online gaming fantasy apps is: that you can talk to your friends while playing the game. Also, it lets you play with your friends rather than competing with strangers. It is also free of cost and has no age restrictions, and is available on Android Play Store and iOS app store.

    Whomp app | Play with your friends
    Whomp app | Play with your friends

    Whomp – Startup Launch

    The team used digital platforms to launch Whomp. They acquired 1000 users on Day 1 and by Day 10, it was already to 35,000. Based on team’s experience, they had strategically chosen the preferred channels for Whomp, and they had a clear-cut intention to deep dive into these channels rather than just going wide at this stage. Their online campaigns helped in brand awareness and reaching out to like-minded potential users.

    Whomp – Business and Revenue Model

    The Whomp revenue model is simple. It works on in-app purchases, advertisements, brand partnerships and integrations with other apps.

    Whomp – Competitors

    As online gaming industry is on the rise, there are quite a few competitors of Whomp.

    Whomp – Challenges

    One of the most challenging situations the startup faced was on Day 8, where they had 10,000 downloads in one day and the server was not built to take that much of a load. To tackle the issue efficiently, they had to work hard overnight to bring everything on track. They eventually did manage it but they had to face some dissatisfied users. This lead to creating a CRM department to handle user queries.

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    Whomp – Coupon Code/ Offers

    For StartupTalky Valued Readers and Whomp Users, use coupon: “Talky500” and avail offer now!

    Whomp – Future Plans

    Since, they are very new at the moment, so taking one step at a time, they are eventually updating features within a month. They are introducing new features through which they plan to monetize the business in upcoming months.

    Whomp – FAQs

    What is Whomp?

    Whomp is an interactive gaming platform where every cricket fan can play and experience a live auction.

    Is there any Whomp coupon code available?

    Yes, for StartupTalky Valued Readers and Whomp Users, use coupon: “Talky500”.

    Who is the Founder of Whomp?

    Varun Gajjar is the sole founder of Whomp.

    When was Whomp Founded?

    Whomp was founded during the Pandemic in 2020.

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  • EasyPoker – Host Poker Nights Without Chips or Playing Cards!

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.

    Are you stuck in situations when you want to play poker but don’t have cards and chips with you? EasyPoker is designed to solve this problem. It is the digital substitute for the traditional silver case poker set. This means you can use the EasyPoker app to host poker nights with friends – no physical poker chips or playing cards needed. Now, you can play Poker at the bar, around the campfire – anytime, anywhere.

    Read this article to know more about the EasyPoker app, product, founders, logo, business model, revenue, growth, challenges, funding, and achievements.

    Company Highlights

    Startup Name EasyPoker
    Headquarter Aarhus, Denmark
    Sector App, Online Gaming
    Founders Tobias Oliver Eberhard, Ulrik Hunskjær, Martin Jensen, Anders Eggert
    Founded 2019
    Funding Bootstrapped
    Legal Name EasyPoker ApS
    Website easy.poker
    Contact allin@easy.poker

    EasyPoker – About and How it Works
    EasyPoker – Target Market Size
    How was EasyPoker Started?
    EasyPoker – Products/Services
    EasyPoker – Founders and Team
    EasyPoker – Name, Tagline and Logo
    EasyPoker – Business Model and Revenue Model
    EasyPoker – Startup Launch
    EasyPoker – User Acquisition and Growth
    EasyPoker – Startup Challenges
    EasyPoker – Funding and Investors
    EasyPoker – Recognition and Achievements
    EasyPoker – FAQs
    EasyPoker – Conclusion

    EasyPoker – About and How it Works

    EasyPoker is the digital substitute for the traditional silver case poker set. This means you can use the EasyPoker app to host poker nights with friends – no physical poker chips or playing cards needed.

    The app’s core mission is to bring back live poker with friends by making it as easy and convenient as online poker – all while still maintaining the feel of classic face-to-face poker.

    At the moment the team is focusing on delivering COVID-19 friendly poker nights, making sure casual players don’t have to cancel their weekly games during the pandemic.

    EasyPoker – Target Market Size

    EasyPoker is operating in the market of both online poker and classic “offline” poker. Worldwide approximately 400,000,000 people consider themselves casual or experienced poker players. The market has a 12% CAGR (source: Adroit Market Research).

    The market will become more digitized and using virtual playing cards and chips will become the new normal. This will both have something to do with convenience, connecting friends across borders, and the international COVID-19 pandemic that has put extra focus on the spread of bacteria by human interaction.

    And on top of this, the company, of course, operate in the market of ‘casual gaming’, since the app is removing the usual struggles of facilitating face-to-face poker, meaning a game of poker with your friends will be just a tap away – probably leading to more frequent, casual games.

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    How was EasyPoker Started?

    Tobias Oliver Eberhard, a co-founder of EasyPoker, had the idea for EasyPoker years back on a trip with his friends. They wanted to play poker but did not have a poker set. They ended up ripping small pieces of paper and cracking matches to use as “poker chips”.

    Back then he was working on another startup so did not have the time to pursue this obvious gap in the market. Two years later Tobias ended up selling his first startup and then went to pursue the idea of making social poker digital. Tobias met his co-founders in college.

    “We hit it off right away, as we all had an interest in digital entrepreneurship and apps. Before starting any development we created an interactive (non-functional) prototype using the Marvel App. We gave it to our friends in the poker community and asked for feedback on the concept”, recalls Tobias Oliver Eberhard, founder of EasyPoker.

    After that, they started posting pictures and videos of the prototype on social media to see the reactions of potential users. Overall, people liked what the team was working on, as most of them had been in a situation missing a poker set themselves. They collected and analyzed all the feedback they had gotten and then started the official development.

    EasyPoker – Products/Services

    The app works kind of like “Kahoot” for poker. A user creates a table and gets a 4 digits game code that he/she shares with his friends.

    EasyPoker - Features
    EasyPoker – Features

    The app is designed to feel as close to using playing cards and poker chips in real life as possible. This means a completely new design compared to traditional poker apps. The app also does not offer players to buy chips to use in the game – It’s all included, which means no gambling of your real-life money (even simulated).

    EasyPoker – Founders and Team

    Tobias Oliver Eberhard, Ulrik Hunskjær, Martin Jensen, and Anders Eggert are the founders of EasyPoker.

    EasyPoker Founders
    EasyPoker Founders

    One of the co-founders (Ulrik Hunskjaer) is Tobias’s cousin and the other two they met in college. They all have a BA in Multiplatform Storytelling & Production. Tobias (CEO of EasyPoker) and Anders Eggert (CFO) have a technical background from college while Ulrik (COO) and Martin Jensen (CGO) specialized in product development, marketing, and storytelling.

    “It was actually pretty easy to convince the guys to start the app business as we have all just finished college and were looking to be a part of a startup or similar. I had recently just exited my old company and Ulrik Hunskjaer had just left a job at Niantic Labs (Pokemon GO, Ingress) as he wanted to pursue his own app ideas. It pretty much lined up perfectly”, says Tobias Eberhard, CEO of EasyPoker.

    Today the company has 5 employees – the 4 founders and a backend developer. They have a small office in Aarhus, but since the COVID-19 outbreak been working mostly remotely.

    EasyPoker was the first “working title” the company had when the team first started development. The name is very generic and it’s not how Tobias would normally name a startup. But other poker apps (which they needed to stand out from) all had “creative” non-generic names. This meant they had to be thinking simple to stand out from the crowd.

    EasyPoker Logo

    The app’s entire design is aimed to be as clean and effective as possible. According to Tobias, the team aims to design the app, logo, and marketing material as if Apple had to make a poker app. This means a clean, no-nonsense design and communication. Normally this would not make you stand out, but general poker marketing is very cluttered and sketchy, so it works well for EasyPoker.

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    EasyPoker – Business Model and Revenue Model

    EasyPoker is also the first poker app to base its whole app on a subscription business model. The subscription gives access to extra features and bigger tables.

    EasyPoker works on a subscription based business model. The pricing is $5.99 monthly, $29.99 every 6 months or $39.99 annual.

    EasyPoker – Startup Launch

    As the team started posting images and videos of their prototype on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, they already had 1000+ email subscribers when launching (using a landing page created in WordPress + MailChimp). The founders managed to get most of them to sign up to become early users after the soft launch.

    Fun fact: The app did not officially launch until it had 150k users.

    EasyPoker – User Acquisition and Growth

    The startup has been looking into growth hacking, making it easy for users to invite more players right from within the app. Other than that they have created web content and done a lot of SEO/ASO. Recently the product launched on Product Hunt where it became the #1 Product of the day.

    Today, EasyPoker has about 7,000 paying subscriptions on its platform. The platform has seen significant growth in the last 4 months and expects it to continue. The founders are looking for an investment that can help scale the product even more.

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    EasyPoker – Startup Challenges

    “We had a lot of challenges along the way. One major challenge was with a former team member that left the company. He wanted out and we had to keep going without him. We ended up hiring a replacement that we paid out of our own pocket.

    After some months the former member wanted to re-join the company, making it a difficult situation for the team as we did not have a clear legal standpoint of what to do. Everything worked out in the end, but this has taught us to have professional contracts designed by lawyers. It’s expensive but worth it”, recalls Tobias about the challenges faced by the startup.

    EasyPoker – Funding and Investors

    EasyPoker is currently bootstrapped and is looking for an investment that can help scale the product even more.

    EasyPoker – Recognition and Achievements

    According to the founder, launching the app is itself a big achievement. Most people don’t get this far. Second is successfully monetizing the users. The third is being able to make a living off an app you build yourself. And then of course being voted ‘#1 Product of the day’ on Product Hunt was a huge win, since the members there are often people from the tech industry.

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    EasyPoker – FAQs

    What is EasyPoker?

    EasyPoker is the digital substitute for the traditional silver case poker set. This means you can use the EasyPoker app to host poker nights with friends – no physical poker chips or playing cards needed.

    Who are the Founders of EasyPoker?

    Tobias Oliver Eberhard, Ulrik Hunskjær, Martin Jensen, and Anders Eggert are founders of EasyPoker.

    How does EasyPoker make money?

    EasyPoker works on a subscription based business model. The pricing is $5.99 monthly, $29.99 every 6 months or $39.99 annual

    EasyPoker – Conclusion

    EasyPoker is a free poker app that lets you and your friends play a private game of social poker whether live or online. You don’t need any chips or playing cards for that. The EasyPoker Team is crazy about poker with friends, and you can find them on their YouTube channel where they upload videos related to Poker Tutorials, Poker Player Stories, Behind the App Videos and much more. Whether you’re just getting started with poker, or looking to go from good to great this is the best platform for getting started.

  • 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

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    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
    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 31st 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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    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
    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.”

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    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
    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.

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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.

  • GameStop – Let the Game Begin!

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.

    Children love playing video games. In today’s date, not only the children but also the adults crave for playing video games. Video games enable players to enjoy life. Both the children and the middle-aged generation are so busy in their daily routine that getting leisure time is being difficult every passing day.

    GameStop is an American video game, gaming merchandise and consumer electronics retailer. It is considered to be the world’s largest retail gaming destination for PlayStation 4, One X, Xbox and Nintendo Switch games, consoles and accessories. Read the GameStop success story below.

    GameStop – Company Highlights

    Company Name GameStop
    Headquarters Grapevine, Texas, United States
    Sector Gaming, Online Gaming and Software
    Founders Gary M. Kusin and James McCurry
    Founded 1984
    Website gamestop.com

    GameStop – About
    GameStop – Startup Story
    GameStop – Founders and Team
    GameStop – Tagline, Slogan and Logo
    GameStop – Business Model
    GameStop – Revenue Model
    GameStop – Funding
    GameStop – Competitors
    GameStop – FAQs

    GameStop – About

    GameStop is an entertainment software and video games retailer. It is operating more than thousands of retail stores globally. This company has made technology both simple and affordable. It offers the entire world with wireless services. The company is a retailer of pop culture collectibles and multichannel video games.

    GameStop – Startup Story

    Kusin worked at Federated Department Stores as a manager and McCurry was a consultant in Bain & Company’s office. Both were classmates in the past school days. In 1982, both the friends met with each other about a proposal to launch a chain of software for video and computer games selling stores. McCurry believed desperately that one day both would definitely succeed. The friends resigned at the end of 1982. The first Babbage’s retail store was inaugurated in 1983 in a mall. It was named after the British mathematician Charles Babbage. The goal was to keep updated products. McCurry took care of the finances and Kusin acquired products from the local distributors. And the men continued opening several stores all around.

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    GameStop – Founders and Team

    Gary M. Kusin and James McCurry are the founders of the company GameStop.

    • Gary M. Kusin is an American entrepreneur, business advisor and the co-founder of GameStop. He was the President and the CEO at FedEx Kinko’s for a time period of 6 years. He has got 2 sons and both of the sons are now American entrepreneurs.
    • James McCurry was the founder, president and the CEO of the company. He completed his education from Harvard University.

    The tagline of the company is ‘Power to the Players‘.

    Logo, GameStop

    GameStop – Business Model

    The company targets its valuable offerings to anyone who loves playing video games and has got a craving for tech products. The products are very accessible to the consumers in the outlets as there is a wide range found in the stores. GameStop is not only accessible in case of its products but also the locations of the stores are accessible for the customers to reach out. Outlets are situated in the shopping malls or in the major metropolitan areas for attracting people.

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    GameStop – Revenue Model

    The company generates revenue from the sale of the products to various consumers in different channels. The biggest cost driver here is the cost of sales. The other cost drivers are in the areas of marketing or administration. GameStop has got around 80 manufacturers, software publishers and distributors. The top dealers of the company are Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Sony and Nintendo.

    GameStop – Funding

    Date Transaction Name Money Raised Lead Investor
    August 31, 2020 Post-IPO Equity – RC Ventures

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    GameStop – Competitors

    The top competitors of the company are Auchan, Carrefour, Sony and Microsoft.

    • Auchan is a platform providing consumer products. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered at Moskva, RU. It operates in the retail appliances like furniture, toys, groceries and health care and beauty industry.
    • Carrefour is a supermarket and hypermarkets company. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered at Paris, France. It works in the e-commerce sector.
    • Sony is a company that sells electronics products for professionals and consumers. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It operates in the manufacturing and industrial and media and entertainment industry.
    • Microsoft is a technology company that supports and develops software, devices and services. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Redmond, US. It works in the tech field.

    GameStop – FAQs

    Is GameStop shutting down?

    The company has got plans to shut down around 1000 stores all around by the end of March 2021.

    Did GameStop’s business end in 2020?

    GameStop has already closed more than 321 stores in 2019. This is being done because the company’s sales are no more profitable like before it used to be.

    How much cash does GameStop provide to a seller of PS4?

    Probably not more than $130 (if only the item is in a very good condition).

  • Reasons Why These Startup Sectors Bloomed During Lockdown

    In the unprecedented time, where everyone is talking about the economic slowdown and financial difficulties, there have been a few startups sectors that have managed grow exponentially well.

    The Covid 19 pandemic has shaken the world and has brought many business to a halt, although startups have lost their momentum they are already on the path to recover while the newly created trends are expected to see a long term success.

    Nasscom said that 40% off Indian tech startups were forced to halt operation, however the investments and startups have shown resilience and recovered as India saw a rapid shift to digital services and payments. Data from industry tracker Tracxn showed that, investors have put in about $9.3 billion into startups in 2020 despite the Covid 19 pandemic upending many sectors of the economy.

    Ed –Tech
    Fintech
    Health and wellness
    HR tech: Cloud and SaaS
    OTT platforms
    Online Gaming
    FAQ

    How These Startup Sectors Bloomed During Lockdown

    One of the simple explanation for the growth of some section of the startups is the emergence of the “Covid economy” which demands or medical supplies and coronavirus related goods which naturally grew during the pandemic, creating lots of opportunities for new companies to step in and take their share of a rapidly developing market. These companies realize that post Covid 19, this new normal will be accepted as the norm for the remaining in the competitive business.

    For some of these sectors, the new normal would bring in newfound opportunities. A whole new market that was untouched before is now up for grabs. As we are talking of all this, some startups are already working upon the aforesaid scenario. Let’s take a closer look at the startup sectors that are most likely to flourish after the end of COVID-19.

    Lets look at the Sectors that Bloomed During Lockdown

    Ed –Tech

    One sector that continues to grow rapidly is online education. With Covid 19 locking down Indian citizen since the end of March, online education and e-learning platform have become the need of the hour and so has seen an astounding adoption and exponential growth.

    The online education sector is observing a sudden surge and people from all walks of life,  all the Covid 19 affected nations are looking up to alternatives of conventional teaching and learning.

    That’s not surprising, considering that a whopping 1.5 billion students were grounded almost overnight as cities locked down and schools closed. A report by BARC India and Nielsen reveals that there has been a 30% increase in the time spent on education apps on smartphones since the lockdown.

    People are afraid to send their children to places where social distancing is not practiced and hence the ed tech sector is tapping on every possible entity they can.

    Well known EdTech startups of India
    Well known EdTech startups of India

    Ed tech are coming up with solutions that find their usage in various places from universities and schools, to remote employee onboarding, and upskilling to learn new skills and hobbies. Byju’s India earliest Ed tech startup saw 7.5 million new users on its platform since it started offering free access to content. The time spent on its app increased from 70 minutes pre-lockdown to 91 minutes during the lockdown.

    The story is the same for other edtech players in the arena. Unacademy recorded 1.4 billion watch minutes while Toppr saw 100 percent growth in free user engagement in March. While Edtech startups Great Learning said its annual revenue rose 150 percent to Rs 325 crore. The Vedantu platform has also grown exponentially to 6.5 lakh additional learners across K-12 and competitive exams such as JEE and NEET.

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    Fintech

    During the pandemic the demand for contactless solutions has accelerated the employment of fintech services. This growth of the fintech sector helped the users to check for much more personalized, multi optional financial experience and new trends in areas like banking payments, insurtech, etc. Out of 900 plus deals and $11.5 billion total funding raised in 2020, fintech topped the chart with $2.1 billion in funding and 131 in deal counts.

    In such times fintech startups play a pivotal role as they are a perfect option to the stringent and conventional banking systems which sometimes fall short on policies. For small scale enterprise or unemployed individuals who require funds on short notices, these financial entities are the only ray of hope. The pandemic has acted as a booster for the country’s fintech sector giving it the much needed energy and growth trajectory to expand its footprint across the nation.

    According to Inc42 Plus, funding in fintech is expected to grow to $2.7 Bn in 2021. This is why of the 11 Indian startups Unacademy, Pine Labs, FirstCry, Zenoti, Nykaa, Postman, Zerodha, Razorpay, Cars24, Dailyhunt and Glance that became unicorns in 2020, three belonged to the fintech segment. The growth volume stood at 70% from 1.30 billion transactions in December 2019 to 2.2 billion in 2020, while the value of UPI transactions increased 105% from Rs 2.02 lakh crore in December 2019 to Rs 4.16 lakh crore in December 2020.

    Among the leading deals in the fintech sector last year, Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal-owned Navi Technologies led the chart with $398 Mn infusion by Bansal, Gaja Capital, and World Bank’s investment arm IFC, followed by Pine Labs at $300 Mn and PaySense’s acquisition by PayU at $185 Million.

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    Health and wellness

    The pandemic has pushed health and wellness services online and has resulted in a boom of online health and wellness services such as telehealth tech, remote diagnostics, and monitoring, remote mental healthcare, online fitness, healthy diets, motivational contents, and more. According to a report by Practo, online doctor consultations have increased 500% since March 2020, as five crore Indians are now accessing healthcare online amidst the Covid 19 pandemic.

    Companies like Practo and DocPrime, mFine, CallHealth and Lybrate are some of the leading telemedicine startups, while other small startups are looking to make it in the industry that is currently on the rise. The telemedicine market in India is expected to reach $5.4 Billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 31%. Innovative technologies are allowing health organizations to enhance the access and reduce the burden on hospitals through real time consultation with doctors through smartphones tablets, laptops or PCs.

    Telemedicine will reduce the time of consultations and improve the quality of healthcare services in rural areas, removing many of infrastructural challenges. Telemedicine can also help in reducing the burden on the tertiary hospitals by providing diagnosis and treatment to patients in their own geographical location and reducing chances of patient’s exposure due to hospital visits. While India is already one of the top 10 countries in the telemedicine marketing the world, adoption of a regulatory framework will help the segment grow rapidly.

    Well known telemedicine startups of India
    Well known telemedicine startups of India

    HR tech: Cloud and SaaS

    The rise of HR SaaS and remote working platforms in times of Covid 19 is not surprising. SaaS and remote working tools fall right in the path of success in such times. Businesses are also now understanding the value and operational simplicity that cloud adoption can bring to their IT environments, and various reports forecast a further increase in the use of SaaS solutions in 2021 and beyond. These applications would serve the founding stones for the majority of business operations in the future and a haven for existing ones.

    The covid 19 pandemic has been unable to dampen the interest of investors in Indian startups which offer software as a services (SaaS). According to a report by Brain and company the SaaS firms could capture 7%-9% of the market by 2022, and SaaS companies founded by Indians can reach upto $20 billion in revenue.

    The global SaaS market is estimated to grow to $230 billion in 2022 from $145 billion in 2019. Startups such as Zoho, Druva, Icertis, and Freshworks which breached the $100-million annual recurring revenue (ARR) mark, adding that there is a healthy pipeline of companies.

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    OTT platforms

    OTT platform have proven to be time and cost effective, provide a more personalized version of the same experience and one can experience these at the comfort of their homes. OTT platforms in India are growing exponentially in the terms of subscribership because of various reasons. Digital India plays a major role in promoting the use of OTT platforms to stream diverse content from all over the world. One of the reason the availability of cheaper smartphones and internet has enabled a large chunk of the population to gain access to online platforms.

    Platforms like Voot, Sony Liv and Zee 5 are OTT platforms developed by existing broadcast channels to remain relevant and to cater to the shift in audience from TV viewership to OTT platforms. However, most of their content on these platforms are the same as the ones broadcasted on TV. With the entry of global players like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, users are offered a plethora of original content. Hotstar is currently the most popular OTT platform in India according to data from a mobile advertising and Internet service provider.

    Online Gaming

    In India, Covid 19 has taken this sector to the next level as there have been new gaming startups and platform have been reporting increased revenues mainly because of the pandemic. Furthermore, there is an emergence of new industry trends such as e- gaming, fantasy gaming and cloud-based gaming. Additionally, gaming is not only about playing anymore, but it is also about watching. the Indian online gaming Industry is growing at an exponential rate upon year and is expected to be worth $1.1 billion by 2021.

    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. 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.

    FAQ

    Conclusion