iWorld
Mortal and Thug’s voice packs launched in BGMI
Mumbai: The highly anticipated voice packs of renowned gaming personalities, Naman Mathur (Mortal) and Animesh Agarwal (Thug), are set to be officially integrated into BGMI, providing users with an immersive gaming experience following the game’s official release on the PlayStore and App Store.
Mortal and Thug have been instrumental in fostering a thriving ecosystem for BGMI since its inception, establishing themselves as iconic figures within the community and driving the game’s rapid growth in revenue and user numbers. Their unique voice packs will serve as an exciting addition to BGMI, elevating the gaming experience for users through a new dimension of personalization.
Expressing his excitement about this significant development, 8Bit Creatives founder and CEO and S8UL co-owner Animesh Agarwal stated, “Since the game’s official release, the entire gaming community has been buzzing with excitement. It’s an amazing feeling to have my voice in the game, guiding and motivating players. I eagerly anticipate embarking on this new journey and contributing to BGMI’s prosperity in the years to come.”
Thug and Mortal’s voice packs will feature their renowned dialogues as in-game commands, available in Hindi and English. These voice packs will resonate with players, bringing them closer to their favorite gamers and enhancing their overall gaming experience.
S8UL Esports co-owner Naman ‘Mortal’ Mathur shared his perspective, stating, “Being part of BGMI’s exceptional rise as a player, it’s gratifying to be included in the game and provide fans with a personalized experience throughout their gaming journey. It is now time to immerse ourselves in the game and leverage it to achieve prominence in the industry.”
The ‘India Games Market’ report by Niko Partners is a testament to BGMI’s massive popularity in India, revealing that nearly half of all mobile gamers in the country had played BGMI in the 12 months prior to the game’s ban. Among them, 59% continued playing after the ban, 12 per cent switched to another game, and 29% stopped playing mobile games altogether.
Previously, Thug’s voice pack, along with other prominent S8UL creators including Snax, Scout, Payal, and Mavi, has been featured in the game. The voice packs of Thug and Mortal will be available for players to purchase from the in-game store using the virtual currency known as unknown cash (UC).
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
