The gaming sector is coming up tremendously, it is becoming popular and is growing at a rapid rate. The gaming industry goes back to the 1970s when arcade games were popular in the USA, where games like Pong and the Magnavox Odyssey, which was the first home console started the trend.
In India, the gaming industry started in the 2000s when there were console and PC gaming which bought in middle-class Indians on the digital platform. The main consumers at that time of that product were rich class who could actually afford the product. It is through this introduction in the country, that people became fans of Online games like Call of Duty, FIFA, Counter Strike, Dota and many others.
The ever rising gaming industry had the market value of 90 billion INR in 2020 and is estimated to increase to 143 billion INR by 2022. It has become a huge source of employment and it is predicted that this industry will generate over 40 thousand new opportunities by 2022.
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Gaming Startup
Many startups are coming up in this sector. One such startup is WinZO. Founded in October 2016, WinZo is a vernacular mobile gaming platform in India which [arrenrs with third party developers to host games on their Androud application. It is operated by Tick tock skill games Pvt ltd. With headquartered in New Delhi, it is available in 12 regional languages like Hindi, English, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Bengali.
It is founded by alumni of IIM Calcutta Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore. It is the largest social gaming application that provides a platform for all types of games like Free Fire ,Rummy, Cricket, Fantasy Sports, Fruit Fighter, Carrom,Pool and many others. There are more than 70 games present across various categories like Casual, Card, Action, Esports, Battle Royale and many more and there are many attractive offers for users. Players can win cash by playing games daily.
The awards and recognitions of WinZO are as follows-
In 2020, it received Digital Startup of the Year by Entrepreneur India
In 2019,it received Startup of the Year in Technology by Entrepreneur India
In 2020, it was in the Inc24 Startup Watchlist
In 2020, it was in the list of Businessworld Techtors 2020
In 2020, it received SutraHR, which is the 100 Top Startups in India
WinZO has been in news recently because of the funding it has received. The startup as announced on July 02,2021, has received a funding of USD 65 million. This round of funding was the Series C Round and was led by Griffin Gaming Partners, a global gaming fund based out of California.
The co-founder of Griffin Gaming Partners Phil Sanderson will be the part of WinZO’s board of directors. The company after this round will have raised a total of USD 90 million and out of which USD 18 million were raised six months ago. The existing investors of the startup are Makers Fund, Courtside Ventures, Steve Pagliuca who is the co-chairman of Bain Capital.
The startup aims to use the funding received for its growth purpose and become more wanted and loved brand in the eyes of the customers. The company plans to be one of the first “Made in India’s “ products and has aspirations to rule the world and be famous and have proper strategy. The startup aims to reach 250 million smartphones in one year and would be engaged in investing heavily in establishing itself as a brand that comes in mind when “Gaming in India” is said. Post this funding, the value of the company has increased to 6X and lies at USD 365 million.
Nick Tuosto who is the co-founder of Griffing Gaming Partners said that the funding company is very excited to make its first investment in the country, India. The company has observed soem remarkable retention and monetization metrics which are expected to take the company to great heights and proud explosive growths and he and his company are proud to be associated with it.
The company is engaged in over 2.5 billion micro transactions per month and had over 50 million registered users. The company has increased its revenue ten times over the last 12 months and has come into partnership with more than 100 leading game developers through in-game integration of its social gaming framework.
The online game industry has become a real popular among the investors and we have high hopes that this startup will bring in some modern changes in the Indian Gaming Industry. Let us wait and watch what future brings in for the company.
