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ibibo.com opens its platform to game developers
MUMBAI: Online social games platform, ibibo, has launched its ‘game developer platform‘ called ibibo Open.
At 11.8 million unique users every month (as per IMRB report) ibibo claims to be the biggest gaming platform in India. Using this platform, game developers across the world are now publishing their social and multiplayer games on ibibo targeting Indian audiences.
Ibibo says that it offers advantages to game developers on its platform that include:
Distribution – ibibo enables the distribution of new games to a strong games community on its platforms Monetisation – Developers can generate revenues through the sale of in-game virtual goods leveraging ibibo‘s payment platform, PayU. The platform enables users to make micro payments through mobile operator billing, premium SMS, ibibo Cash Cards, Cash pick Up and credit/ Debit cards. Ibibo has also introduced an iCoin distributor programme wherein the game community member can become a reseller of the virtual currency.
Marketing support – ibibo will help the developer with featured listings, cross promotion from ibibo‘s large social games such as Teen Patti, Mumbai Underworld, Parking Wars. Besides this, ibibo will promote the games via dedicated inventory on its extended Ad-Network, and operational support through in-game and offline events, thereby helping the game developer achieve critical mass of audiences.
Performance-based incentives – For games that start performing based on certain metrics like Daily Active users (DAU) and Monthly Active Users (MAU), game developers would be given performance linked bonuses. Game developers can earn bonuses ranging from $2000 to $100,000 in a month.
Revenue-share from advertising – ibibo will share the advertising revenues earned from the third party game on the platform, thereby boosting the earning opportunity.
Analytics systems – The platform also provides developers with real time and transparent analytics on key matrices such as daily active users, monthly active users, peak concurrent users and repeat users.
Using ‘ibibo Open‘ five game developers have already launched their games – Howzatt cricket from Game Ventures, Singapore ; Tower Of Babel by Kingnet, Beijing ; Junkyard Mahem by Games2Win ; ForestStory by Perfect World Studios, China and Pet Story by Plinga GmbH, Berlin, GermanyThe game enables friends to challenge each other to quick cricket matches; it also has a multi player mode and a level up based single player mode. Average time spent has already crossed 180 minutes per user.
Tower of Babel is a social game where users & their friends own shop(s) in a long Skyscraper, and serve the walk-in customers to grow their businesses. Friends can visit each other‘s shop and steal the Customers from friends shop. The user tries to outgrow the friends business by owning more shops in the Tower of Babel.
Forest story is a popular game where a gamer maintains his/her forest, cleans out the weed area, grows crops, throws out the wild animals from the forest, constructs buildings, produces cloth & decorates the forest. Friends in the game help out each other in doing the tasks and earn more energy and compete to build and decorate a better forest.
Besides these, 10 more international game development companies have signed up on the platform and will be releasing their games in the next two months. This includes some of the biggest names in the international market.
The company aims to aggressively evangelize the platform to local game developers to develop, publish, and monetise their games on its platform.
Game Ventures CEO Zaki Mahomed said, “ibibo has been an incredible partner in helping us take Howzat Cricket to a growing audience of Indian gamers. The Open Platform has enabled us to work closely with their dedicated PM team to launch the game with a full social graph, built-in discovery and access to payment channels.”
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
