According to a recent report, the Indian gaming industry is expected to grow to $8.92 billion within the next five years as India has left behind China and become the second-largest gaming market in the world, by achieving a user base of 568Mn gamers to date.
Currently valued at around $3.1 billion, the Indian gaming industry has bagged a total funding of $2.8 billion involving domestic and global investors over the last five years.
In 2023, 9.5 billion gaming app downloads took place in India, securing India’s 20% share of the world’s total mobile game downloads, while the sector is rapidly growing at a 14% CAGR and is expected to reach 15.68% CAGR by the year 2029.
The Indian gaming industry is set to achieve a market size of $7.24 billion, fueled by the creative efforts of prominent companies. So here, we feature ten emerging Indian gaming startups making significant contributions to the aspiring objectives.
1. Dream11
Fantasy gaming platform Dream11 launched a new campaign titled ‘Yeh Sabka Dream Hai’ ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2024, featuring ‘Mothers of India’ supporting the Indian Cricket Team and hoping for victory. This campaign also included a character named ‘Mummyji’, played by the actor Ayesha Raza, who emphasized a mother’s role in every child’s success.
Established in 2008, Dream11 offers a fantasy gaming platform for multiple sports such as cricket, football, kabaddi, hockey, etc. where users create a virtual team of real-life players and earn points depending on the performances of these players in real matches.
Founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream11 has a total funding of $725Mn while the firm bagged $400Mn in its latest funding round series E in March 2021.
Valued at $8 billion as of November 2021, the Mumbai-headquartered startup Dream11 in FY23 recorded a revenue of Rs.6384Cr. surging by 66% from Rs.3841Cr. in FY22 and during the same period this B2C firm also filed its net profit spiking by 32% from Rs.142Cr. to Rs.188Cr.
2. Games24*7
B2C-modeled startup Games24*7 recently announced the promotion of Dr.Tridib Mukherjee to the position of Chief Data Science & AI Officer. Having served as the Vice President of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Games24*7 for more than six years, Mukherjee will continue to drive the firm’s data-centric approach, imposing his expertise in data science and artificial intelligence.
Games24*7 is an Indian online gaming firm based out of Mumbai, known for its games like RummyCircle and My11Circle.
Incorporated in 2006, this startup has pocketed $107Mn as its total funding, including the latest series C funding round where it became a unicorn after raising $75Mn in March 2022.
Led by Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy, Games24*7 generated revenue of Rs.1988Cr. in FY23 which increased by 70% from Rs.1169Cr. in FY22 while the firm also saw its net loss reduced by 29% from Rs.282Cr. in FY22 to Rs.199Cr. in FY23. As of April 2022, Games24*7 has a valuation of $2.5 billion.
This gaming company’s biggest shareholder is the Parent Entity, holding the shares at 44.94% while the Fund captures its stakes at 35.35%. Meanwhile, the Founders, Angel Investors, ESOP Pool, and others hold the firm’s shares at 0.28%,2.38%,16.31%, and 0.71% respectively.
3. Hike
Led by Kavin Bharti Mittal, in August 2023, the online gaming firm Hike laid off over 55 employees comprising more than one-fifth of the company’s net workforce.
Established in 2012, Hike owns Rush Gaming Universe and aims to convert the Indian gaming segment into a brand new source of economic opportunity.
New Delhi-headquartered startup Hike has bagged a total funding of $261Mn, consisting of an undisclosed amount in its latest series D funding round in May 2022.
This online gaming firm Hike serving the B2C space has showcased its revenue of Rs.150Cr. in FY23 soared 7.8X from Rs.19.21Cr. in FY22 though the startup witnessed a net loss of Rs.147Cr. in FY23 rose by 23.8% from Rs.118.7Cr. in FY22. In August 2016, Hike had a valuation of $1.4 billion.
Hike expanded its business by acquiring other firms such as CREO Tech, Creo, InstaLively, Pulse, and Zip Phone.
Now, drifting the attention towards Hike’s shareholdings, SoftBank Group holds Hike’s shares at 21.1%, Tiger Global Management owns the firm’s stakes at 7.7% followed by Indian Continent Investment, Bharti Enterprises, and KBM Global, holds Hike’s equity shares at 4%,11.1% and 50.8% sequentially.
4. Mobile Premier League
India’s fastest-growing mobile eSport platform Mobile Premier League captured everyone’s attention when it announced Virat Kohli, the renowned Indian cricketer as its brand ambassador.
Launched in 2018, the Mobile Premier League (MPL) is an Indian online gaming platform that offers 60 games in various categories such as sports games, fantasy sports, puzzles, etc. This gaming firm has also collaborated with major sports leagues like Pro Kabaddi League and NBA.
This Bangalore-headquartered startup bagged $2.61Mn in its latest series E funding round in August 2023, amounting to the firm’s total funding of $396Mn.
Formed by Sai Srinivas Kiran and Shubham Malhotra, MPL reported revenue of $104.63Mn in FY23, surging by 63% from $64.20Mn in FY22, reducing its net loss by 80% during the same period to $37.4Mn. from $194.47Mn. However, MPL has commanded a valuation of $2.19 billion as of August 2023.
Investors hold the most shares of this B2C-modeled firm at 62.11%, whereas the founders hold only 11.63% shares of the company. Meanwhile, MPL’s shares are held by the Enterprises, Angel investors, and ESOP Pool at 3.36%,11.67%, and 11.21% respectively.
5. Moonfrog Labs
In February 2021, Stillfront Group announced the news of acquiring 100% of the shares in Moonfrog Labs Private Limited.
Bangalore-headquartered Moonfrog Labs is a growing independent game studio based in Bangalore, and it mainly focuses on Board and Social Card Games.
Led by Ankit Jain, Dimpalkumar Maisuriya, Kumar Puspesh, Oliver Jones, and Tanay Tayal, Moonfrog has raised $16Mn as its total funding to date, followed by the latest series A funding round where the startup pocketed $15Mn in March 2015.
Founded in 2013, this gaming platform filed revenue of Rs.259.8Cr. in FY23 which grew by 13% from Rs.229.8Cr. in FY22, though the firm reported a net loss surging by 15.3% from Rs.88.8CR. in FY22 to Rs.102.4Cr. in FY23. As per reports, the firm had a valuation of $57.6Mn in March 2015.
The major shares of this B2C-modeled startup, are held by its parent company Stillfront at 88.8% while the founders, investors, and ESOP Pool hold 3%, 2.1%, and 6.1% of Moonfrog’s shares sequentially.
6. Nazara Technologies
In July 2024, Nazara Technologies Limited announced that it had acquired an additional 48.42% stake in Paper Boat Apps, elevating Nazara’s ownership in Paper Boat to a complete 100% marking a pivotal moment in its strategic growth plan.
This B2C-modeled startup is an online gaming portal that later switched to providing mobile entertainment VAS for telecom operators.
Established in 2000, Nazara raised a total funding of $128Mn consisting of $30Mn in its latest funding round after launching the IPO in January 2024.
Founded by Nitish Mittersain, Vikash Pratapchand Mittersain, Neerja Mittersain, and Rakesh Chandrakant Shah, Nazara is valued at $384Mn as of February 2021 and in FY24 the startup generated Rs.1218Cr. as its revenue, which increased by 6.8% from Rs.1140Cr. in FY23. The firm also showcased a 23% rise in net profit to Rs.75Cr. in FY24 from Rs.61Cr. in FY23.
In this Mumbai-headquartered startup Nazara, 47.72% of shares are owned by the venture capital firms, while the founders, enterprises, angel investors, ESOP Pool, and others hold 3.5%, 25.24%,15.46%,6.95%, and 1.63% of the shares, respectively.
7. Nodwin Gaming
Founded in 2015, Nodwin Gaming recently popped up in the news when it announced the expansion of its portfolio by fully acquiring German esports and gaming marketing agency Freaks 4U Gaming in a share swap deal worth Rs.271Cr.
Established by Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk, Nodwin Gaming is one of the world’s leading esports companies which builds a sustainable framework of professional gamers, content creators, audiences, and organizations.
Nodwin Gaming based in Gurugram, has secured a total funding of $53.6Mn to date, including $28Mn in its latest series C funding round during May 2023.
This B2C-modeled startup reported revenue of Rs.394.6Cr. in FY23 growing by 84.8% from Rs.213.5Cr. in FY22 while recording a net profit of Rs.1Cr. in FY23 dropping by 84.8% from Rs.6.6Cr. in FY22. As of May 2023, the firm was valued at $349Mn.
Acquired by Nazara Technologies, Nodwing Gaming recently has made several acquisitions including Freaks 4U, Ninja Global, Ninja Bilgi, PublishMe, Branded, Planet SuperHeroes, Oml Entertainment, and NH7.
The ownership of Nodwin Gaming is largely controlled by Nazara, which holds 50.1% of the shares, whereas The Goodgame Investments, Pratithi Investments, Krafton, and JetSynthesys (11.4%) own 17.9%,5.6%,15%, and 11.4% of the shares respectively.
8. Octro
In December 2023, online gaming company Octro appeared in the news by announcing its acquisition of DGN Games, a global gaming platform offering casino slots.
Mobile gaming studio based in Noida, led by Saurabh Aggarwal, Octro aims to offer Indian card-based games like Rummy, TeenPatti, etc. in a seamless digital format.
Established in 2006, this B2C startup raised its latest funding, leading to a total funding of $15Mn in a series A funding round in June 2014.
9. PlaySimple Games
Bangalore-headquartered PlaySimple Games is a global mobile gaming platform that creates simple yet impactful game experiences such as WordWars, WordTrip, WordJam, etc. at a large scale.
Owned by Preeti Reddy, Siddhanth Jain, Siddharth Jain, and Suraj Nalin, PlaySimple Games secured a total funding of $4.5Mn to date, consisting of $4Mn as its latest fund raised in series A funding round in November 2016.
Established in 2014, this startup filed a revenue of Rs.1604.5Cr. in FY22 soaring by 84% from Rs.871.4Cr. in FY21 while the firm achieved a net profit skyrocketed 3.65X to Rs.316.1Cr. in FY22 from Rs.86.6Cr. in FY21. As of November 2016, the firm had a valuation of $16.1Mn.
Acquired by Modern Times Group, this B2C-modeled firm PlaySimple Games shares are predominantly held by Modern Times Group at 72.2% with the remaining shares allocated to the Founders at 21.7% and ESOP Pool at 6%.
10. WinZo
WinZo on January 2024, announced the launch of its ‘Bharat Tech Triumph’ initiative to support research in deep tech for social gaming and cybersecurity, and in May 2024 it launched season 2 of the BTT program, dedicated to exporting made-in-India technology by providing growth resources.
Incorporated in 2018, this firm targets the age group of 25 to 34 years and 62.32% of its audience is male while female audiences are remaining 37.68%.
WinZo is based in New Delhi and has bagged $92Mn as its total funding, including $65Mn as its latest funding in a series C funding round in April 2021.
Formed by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore, this gaming platform had a valuation of $365Mn as of July 2021. The startup showcased its revenue increasing by 188% to Rs.674Cr. in FY23 from Rs.234Cr. in FY22 while recording a net profit of Rs.126Cr. in FY23 and a net loss of Rs.130Cr. in FY22.
Venture capital firms own a sustainable 51.81% of WinZo’s shares. The remaining shares are distributed among the founders at 35.2%, enterprises at 4.31%, angel investors at 1.41%, ESOP Pool at 7.15%, and others at 0.05%.
In conclusion, these companies not only contribute to the vibrant growth of the Indian gaming industry but also position India as a significant competitor in the global gaming arena. Their immense potential and competitive spirit are reshaping the future of gaming.
