India is the second most populated country in the world, with around 1.4 billion people and has been emerging for several years now. With its development, new economies have appeared, and gaming is one of them. Unlike western countries, gaming is happening on mobile, and many promising startups have focused their effort on further developing mobile titles.
Many of these startups base their activity around “skill games” this term is opposed to “games of chance,” and companies use it because the gambling laws are strict in India.
The Five Best Indian Startups
- Zupee
Founded in 2018, Zupee is a real money-based competitive gaming platform where players can earn money for playing games. The experience is similar to playing at an online casino in Canada for real money but with video games. The games offered by the company are classic board games like Snakes and Ladders, and users can play with a downloadable app for Android users only.
- WinZO
WinZO claims to offer interactive social games through a downloadable app for iOS and Android. It offers arcade games and games based on famous sports in India, such as pool or cricket. It’s a very renowned brand in India with over 70 million players, and like Zupee, playing the games offers the prospect of earning some real money.
- JetSynthesys
JetSynthesys is a branch of the Jetline Group, which started as the sole importer of European textiles in Thailand and Southeast Asia. JetSynthesys offers mobile, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) games. Their most popular titles are branded games like WWE Racing Showdown, featuring wrestlers in a racing game. Another game that may seem odder for western audiences is “Being SalMan: The Official Game.” This game lets you play as three characters interpreted by Bollywood star Salman Khan in blockbusters. JetSynthesys is the most versatile company on this list, with activities ranging from game development and editing to entertainment platforms hosting videos.
- Games24x7
Games24x7 has developed games since 2006 and has an extensive portfolio with casual games, but most of their revenue comes from skill games. Their most popular games are My11Circle and RummyCircle. My11Circle is a cricket fantasy platform. Players compete with their favourite cricket teams against each other. On the other hand, RummyCircle features one of India’s most popular card games: Rummy. As a skill game, it offers real money prizes, which explains the popularity of the site and the app RummyCircle.
- Zapak
Zapak offers a mobile gaming portal with a downloadable app for iOS and Android but also lets people play the games from the website. The offering is similar to previous mentions of this list, with arcade games, cricket, multiplayer games, and more. Most games work on a freemium model, which even western developers often use. Zapak is one of the companies in India that were financed by a Chinese conglomerate.
The Orientation of the Indian Gaming Industry
The biggest gaming companies of India aren’t what we’re used to seeing from western companies. It can be explained by cultural differences and how the digital industry developed in Southeast Asia. The games provided by these companies will revolve around what Indians love, so we’ve found that the most popular games are virtual versions of cricket, Rummy, or video games based on Bollywood actors.
The other aspect that differs from western developers is the fact that Indians don’t consume the games on computers or consoles for the most part. In India, the gaming market is on mobile devices. It’s slowly happening in western countries with younger generations, but the roots of gaming are still on home machines. India doesn’t share this history of console gaming, and access to a phone is more straightforward, so mobile gaming is the norm in India.
