Earlier this year, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade reported that India has over 1.4 lakh Indian startups. From this number around 1k+ are gaming startups that put India on the Global gaming map. Compared to the past few years ago, India has made huge progress in the gaming industry. These gaming startups have gained major interest from investors in this sector. India aims to become a key player in the global gaming industry by creating content that resonates worldwide.
Tracxn mentioned in a report that India now has more than 1,745 gaming startups. While Startups like Nazara Technologies and Games 24×7 are focused on merging their technologies and acquisitions. Other gaming startup Hike secured $261 million in its fresh funding rounds to use artificial intelligence and provide a mobile-only blockchain gaming platform. Many tech giants are using the technology and services from these startups to provide streamlined gaming experiences to their users. The gaming sector is rapidly growing across India and here we are talking about the top 10 Indian gaming startups in 2024 that enable India to enter the global gaming maps.
Nzara technologies
Nazara is an e-sports and sports media platform that enables users to play diverse mobile games. The startup serves in three sectors including gaming, esports, and advertising. The startup has secured over 128 million USD across twelve funding rounds since its inception in 2000, including $12.1 million raised during its latest funding round. The company has 48 institutional investors including Sequoia Capital, WestBridge Capital, and IIFL Asset Management. The firm plans to invest $100 million in merging and acquisition for the next two years. The gaming startup faces competition from other companies in the same segment such as Mobile Premier League and Kongregate.
Games 24×7
The startup provides an online gaming platform to offer players with skill games. The startup uses advanced technologies and artificial intelligence to provide the best gaming experience across its web and mobile platforms. The startup raised $75 million in its series C funding round. The company has secured around $107 million across multiple funding rounds. The company has investors including Tiger Global Management and Malabar Investments and it competes with other companies in the sector like Dream11, FanDuel, and more.
Nodwin Gaming
Nodwin Gaming is an e-sports gaming platform that offers sports tournaments and events across various games. The company organizes multiple e-sport events and services for talent management, sponsorship, and content production. The startup also helps to distribute the content through different broadcast platforms. The startup has secured around 84.9 million USD across all its funding rounds, this includes $3.32 million raised during its series C funding round. The company has investors including Good Game Investments and Kreafton. Nodwin faces competition from companies including Hero Entertainment, and Nerd Street.
Mobile Premier League
MPL is an online gaming platform that offers real-money casino games and e-sports activities. The company provides different games and allows players to compete with each other and win cash prizes. The startup secured $2.61 million in its series E funding round from RTP Global with the participation of other investors. The company has raised around $396 million across six funding rounds to date. Mobile Premier League competes with Win Zo, DraftKings, and other gaming companies.
Hike
Blockchain-based mobile gaming platform provides blockchain gaming platform. The application allows players to use skills to compete and win the rewards. Hike also provides an online social media platform for sharing, messaging, Crypto, and gaming. The startup has secured over $261 million across multiple rounds since its inception, including the series D funding rounds. The company receives investments from Tiger Global Management, Tecent, and 11 more institutional investors. This gaming platform turned unicorn after reaching a valuation of $1.4 billion.
Zupee
Zupee is a money-winning gaming platform that provides multiple games such as Ludo, snakes and Ladders, trump card, and more. The players can earn money by winning the games. The startup claims to offer instant withdrawal and 24/7 customer support services. The startup claims to work with payment companies for secure transactions including Razorpay, Juspay, and Cashfree. The Gurugram startup secured $122 million since its inception with $72 million raised during its series B funding round. It faces competition from other companies like MPL, WinZo, and Skillz.
WinZO
Online social gaming platform WinZO is one of the leading gaming companies. The startup enables users to play mobile games and win cash as a reward. The platform provides two categories involving pay-to-play and free-to-play games. The company secured $65 million in its series C funding round from Kalaari Capital to expand its services and aim for market expansion in 2021. The startup faces competition from other money gaming platforms such as Zupee, and MPL.
JetSynthesys
JetSynthesys provides AI and VR-based gaming platforms. The company develops mobile gaming applications and social platforms for entertainment. The startup creates celebrity-themed games like “Being Salman” and the VR game “Sachin Saga Cricket Champions”. The startup has secured around 77.4 million USD since its inception, including $10.5 million raised from Prathithi’s investment and others in a series B funding round. The company faces competition from HitWicket, Soccer Manager, and World Golf Tour.
Dream 11
Mobile gaming platform Dream11 is the first gaming startup to achieve unicorn status in 2019. The application is available through the Play Store and Apple Store on Android and iOS devices. The startup secured $725 million across six funding rounds. The company raised $400 million in its series E funding round from TV, Alpha Wave Global, and others at a post-money valuation of $8 billion. The company competes with other fantasy gaming platforms such as Mobile Premier League, and DraftKings.
PlaySimple
This Gaming startup creates mobile and social media gaming. The firm launched two games including an emoji guessing game GuessUp and a word game WordTrek. The company has raised around 4.5 million USD across three funding rounds. The startup secured 4 million USD from Chiratae Ventures and Elevation Capital in its series A funding round. The company has five institutional investors including IDG Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, and Elevation Capital.
Conclusion:
The Indian gaming industry has been growing rapidly for the past few years. India has around 1.4 lakh startups across different sectors. From these startups over 1.5k are gaming startups that have raised millions of dollars in the past years. The government of India has been launching several schemes in the past few years including different funding programs and initiatives schemes to promote the Indian startup ecosystem. India has around 115 unicorns and 112 unicorns making it the third largest startup ecosystem in the world.
These companies are changing the startup ecosystem and reshaping the workings of industries while contributing to the overall development of the Indian economy. The growth of these companies will create more job opportunities and strengthen India’s position as a global startup hub. The growth and profit from startups will help India to strengthen its position in the market.
During a speech on 15th August, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi mentioned the potential of the nation in this sector. The government is focused on making India the key player in the global gaming industry. The Global gaming sector is predicted to grow at a huge CAGR in the next five years and India expects to play a huge role in this sector. Many gaming startups like Dream 11 are already attracting a global audience. This gaming platform has secured over 725 million USD across multiple funding rounds since its inception.
