Gamerji, one of India’s most prominent e-sports tournament platform has become the first ever Indian startup to be selected in the accelerator program by Qatar Sports Tech – A sports-centric startup investor and accelerator based in Doha, Qatar.

Qatar Sports Tech runs an accelerator program for startups that use cutting edge technology to reshape the industry of sports. Having competed against 1600 startups from over 15 countries. Gamerji was selected in the top 10 list of startups from across the world for the program.

As part of the program, Qatar Sports Tech will invest USD 150K in Gamerji and incubate the company while also creating a base in Qatar, opening avenues to the Middle East market. Launched in 2019, Gamerji was founded by Soham Thacker and Varun Gajjar. Within a short span, Gamerji already has over 120K gamers on their platform.

Gamerji allows gamers to compete, communicate, share content and win cash prizes by conducting more than 15 tournaments every day. Gamers can leverage their skills and earn money from the hours spent. It presently offers games such as PUBG, Clash Royale and Call of Duty. Offered to the public as a mobile application, it is available for Android and iOS users for convenient use.

Speaking on the expansion and funding, Soham Thacker, Co-Founder, Gamerji said

E-sports as an industry is rapidly growing and Gamerji has the capacity to have more than a million gamers competing in the next 6 months. The company is also looking to raise its seed round soon.

E-sports as an industry is fairly new in the Indian market. Most tournaments held are hosted offline or on social media platforms. While the registrations, player management and payments are handled using different platforms. Gamerji has consolidated these procedures and is now a one-stop platform for e-sports tournaments.

While most the e-sports companies are focused on either conducting offline tournaments on a grand scale or sponsoring teams, there has been no attention on casual gamers who comprise of the majority of the market. Gamerji has researched and has taken interest in the mindset of today’s casual gamer who on an average spend over 2+ hours daily playing online games. These gamers are looking for an opportunity to make money and attain recognition by using their skills, and Gamerji provides them with this opportunity.

PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds [PUBG], the popular battle royale game has announced the launch of its Beta service for PUBG LITE version in India. PUBG LITE, a free-to-play game is compatible with lower-end computers, with optimized game-play and graphics to ensure a more inclusive and wider gaming experience.

To enhance the user experience on the new version of the game and make it even more engaging, PUBG LITE has partnered with Jio. This exclusive association in India, marks the coming together of two iconic and loved brands that complement each other’s vision to deliver new-age digital experiences to its users.

Jio users who register for PUBG LITE will be able to enjoy exclusive rewards by way of free skins for their in-game merchandise.

How to enroll for the free Jio Gift

1. To enjoy this unique experience on PUBG LITE, Jio users can visit  GamesArena & fill up a simple 2-step registration form.
2. Users will then receive a verification link on their registered email ID.
3. Once the verification is complete, the user will receive another mail with unique redemption code which can be claimed within the game.

How to use the redemption code

1. After downloading and registering for PUBG LITE, user can go to Menu Store
2. In the menu options, user needs to click on “Add Bonus/Gift Code”
3. Now the user needs to add the redemption code in the blank space and click on redeem

The lottery and gaming conglomerate Sugal & Damani Group, announced the launch of Khel Group, aimed at becoming India’s largest online gaming platform. Khel Group will be the parent company with two of its own online gaming portals called Khelplayrummy offering online rummy and the newly launched KhelChamps, offering fantasy sports and gaming. Khel Group also has Pokerstars currently operated by Sachiko Gaming Pvt. Ltd., that has an exclusive partnership with the global entity – The Stars Group. Khel Group therefore becomes the only online gaming group in the country offering rummy, fantasy sports/games and poker together through a single, seamless and an efficient interface.

According to a recent study done by KPMG and Google in India, the gaming industry is currently estimated at approximately $0.6 billion, of which online gaming is approximately $0.37 billion. This shows that online gaming segment has a great scope in India and Khel Group looks at acquiring a substantial market share in this segment in the country.

Commenting on the development, Naveen Goyal, CEO, Khel Group said

Since the launch, our company has been focused on providing the best customer experience by offering a seamless interface through innovative technologies. With Khel Group, we intend to augment the online gaming experience along with consolidating several gaming offerings. The purpose of Khel Group is to create a strong single platform and identity which is imperative for the brand to communicate effectively with our different stakeholders. I look forward to this new and exciting phase of our journey.

Sharing his perspective on the online gaming industry in India, Nitesh Damani, Founder & Promoter, Khel Group said

India’s growing internet consuming population and smartphone penetration coupled with reasonable data prices is creating a revolution in the online gaming sector. Hence it is important to keep upgrading the back-end technology to intensify our product offerings and give the best user experience to stay relevant to them from time to time. With our foray into the fantasy sports, we are expanding our capabilities and adding value to the customers by offering them ample options to choose from, by way of which our vision to be the only online gaming group offering multiple games can be reinstated.

Technology and ease of attractive user interface is the mainstay of Khel Group’s range of premium brands across all its verticals. The Group takes pride for the massive reach that it has and looks forward to shape the online gaming industry.

About Khel Group

Khel Group aims to be the largest online gaming group by meticulously engineering superlative online gaming experiences. The group strives to adapt to changing trends, evolve and reform, producing better versions of work each time. The utmost priority is to ensure smooth, exciting and safe game play which subsequently attracts gaming enthusiasts.

APUS, world’s leading technology company specializing in Android development and information services announced plans to bring the next phase of disruption in India’s gaming industry through its unique live quiz game ‘Go Millionaire‘, launched on its flagship product APUS Launcher. The company plans to give away over Rs. 4 crores as cash prize to the winners of the game, typically millennials, working professionals or non-working individuals aged between 17 to 35 years of age. The quiz game aims to bring together a seamless integration of entertainment, knowledge and surprise.

The quiz game starts every day at 10:00 PM IST with cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000/- daily and Rs. 2,00,000/- on Sundays being given out to the winners. Over 80% of the questions are related to the local culture with 12 questions from diversified topics such as entertainment, politics, history, culture, nature, sports and technology. In the last two months, the game has resonated well with the fun, cool young Indian minds who are always in a quest to re-invent their mundane lifestyle.

Speaking about the upswing in India’s gaming industry and overall reaction to APUS’ ‘Go Millionaire’ quiz game, Raymond Chen, APUS India, said

Go Millionaire has managed to open opportunities for young Indian minds to stay connected with the outside world and serve as a window for the world to understand Indian culture and delve into the lives, thoughts and dreams of the millennials.

We, at APUS, are betting big on the potential of India’s digital gaming industry which is growing rapidly. This country’s mobile games market is expected to touch a whopping figure of $1.1 billion by 2020. And, the number of smartphone users is projected to become 628 million by then. There is no doubt that it is a very interesting time to be in India – where the rising interest in mobile gaming is running in parallel to the rise in smartphone adoption as well.

Go Millionaire is not just a unique platform that elevates the knowledge quotient of India’s young minds but also renders a sense of financial independence combined with elements of surprise thereby providing a fascinating user experience. The APUS users, the players of the game, who typically earn nearly Rs. 4000 everyday, have unique stories to tell.

Priyanka Wagh, a homemaker from Dhule, Maharashtra, an avid player of the game said

My friends introduced me to the game on social media and I have been playing it ever since. I love the concept of the game as it enhances my knowledge, makes me financially independent and is fun too. Last week, while playing on ‘Go Millionaire’, question after question, I crossed all hurdles and to my complete surprise that day I earned Rs.4264/-. I used the money to pay off the loan amount for that month. Now, I play the game at least 3-4 times a week.

Another ‘Go Millionaire’ enthusiast Satya Srivastava who works at an education focused firm in Mumbai said

I have been playing ‘Go Millionaire’ for a while now as I see a great combination of learning and fun in this. I also thought it would be a good idea to use this platform to re-invent the work culture in our company. And now all my team members play this game. I have introduced it to the students’ community too that liaisons with us daily as it is a brilliant opportunity for them to improve their learning curve and earn decent money as well.

Currently, the quiz game is seamlessly integrated into APUS Browser, which is best known for its boosted speed and privacy protection features.  In the next phase, the game will move to a continuous live quiz show format and will be made available in all APUS products. Additionally, the game is in English at this stage and will be launched in multi-lingual version to cater to the larger segment of India’s young audience very soon.

About APUS Group

Beijing Headquartered APUS Group is one of the world’s leading technology company specializing in Android development and information services. Founded in June 2014 by APUS Group CEO Tao Li, the former vice president of Qihoo 360, APUS Group’s mission is to deliver the world’s most intuitive user experience to Android smartphone users worldwide.

Nazara Technologies Limited and Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited [Royal Challengers Bangalore] have come together to launch their second mobile cricket game RCB Epic Cricket. RCB Epic Cricket is a 3D realistic and simulative game for fans featuring multiplayer mode that allows users to play versus other players across India. In this game, play as Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers along with team sensation Safaraz Khan and rule the pitch.

Nazara has exclusive mobile gaming rights for a multiyear partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore to license the intellectual property for curation of freemium games.  HP has come on board as the title sponsor for the official game, RCB Epic Cricket. It has been integrated in the game in the form of jersey branding, billboards, real estate branding, user interface branding and much more. HP is one of the key sponsor brands for RCB for the 11th edition of T20 Season.

Last year, the RCB Star Cricket game rose quickly through the charts and had even reached the No.1 top free games spot on Google Play within few days of its launch. While the peak engagement was during T20, more than 54% of the engagement happened post the T20 season during the rest of the year.

Amrit Thomas, Chairman of Royal Challengers Bangalore, said

Over years, RCB has become more a lifestyle brand than just a cricket team. RCB has immensely transcended the experience of fan engagement. Fans connect with the team across multiple touch points on digital platforms. We strive to give them a seamless and more personalized experience for the love and support they have shown for the team.

Manish Agarwal, CEO, Nazara Games, said

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new muliti- player game RCB Epic Cricket with Royal Challengers Bangalore. It feels great to work with a team which is always eager to push new boundaries whether it is ‘play along’ aspect within the stadium or hall of fame on social media.

RCB fans are in for a treat this year with exciting merchandise to be won within the multiplayer launched in the game. We have also printed a QR code on all the tickets sold at the RCB stadium for them to have an interactive experience while watching the game.

RCB Epic Cricket is currently designed to be played in three modes – Multiplayer Mode, Live Events and Career Mode. The unique part about the game is its multiplayer system which enables the player to create your own RCB Dream Team and play against an opposing team [RCB Dream Team] in a turn based multiplayer match along with elements of strategy. The player can compete on– Daily, Weekly and Monthly Leader-boards to win plenty of original RCB merchandise.

The Live Events enables the player to play real time matches of RCB during the T20 Season. This mode gives the players a chance to help RCB defeat their rival teams. The players can compete in these Live events to win existing RCB merchandises.

The Career mode, on the other hand, will enable the player to play as their favourite RCB stars. To begin with you can step into the shoes of ace cricketer and RCB Captain, Virat Kohli. This mode offers the cricket fans to face 7 bold Teams on-field that have been simulated from T20. This mode also has other cricketing heavyweights such as Yuzvendra Singh Chahal and AB de Villiers. The game is available for download on Google Play Store for android devices and is expected to be available for iOS by mid-April 2018.

RCB Epic Cricket for Android can be downloaded from here