Gaming
88 Pictures launches its gaming division – 88 Games
Mumbai: 88 Pictures, an animation and VFX studio from India, has launched a new gaming division, 88 Games, entering the game development sector with a focus on high-quality indie games for PC and console audiences. 88 Games aims to blend visual quality with storytelling inspired by India’s rich history and culture.
Known for its animation work on shows like Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, Gremlins: Secret of Mogwai, Transformers: The Earth Spark, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, and Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, 88 Pictures has made a mark in international markets. With 88 Games, the studio builds on its storytelling legacy to offer interactive experiences that entertain, educate, and inspire.
Led by industry veterans Milind D Shinde and Shiben Bhattacharjee, the team includes experienced professionals from global studios, all dedicated to creating games that showcase India’s cultural heritage.
88 Games founder & CEO Milind D Shinde said, “88 Games represents the next step in our journey at 88 Pictures. Our team is dedicated to producing premium games that are not only visually stunning but also deeply rooted in our cultural identity. India, being one of the oldest civilizations in the world, has legends, stories, cultures, and art that have existed for thousands of years, forming a unique kaleidoscope that needs to be showcased to the world. It is an exciting challenge to translate the heritage of India into this new medium, with our mission to narrate stories based on this immense cultural capital through video games for the global audience.”
88 Games plans to introduce titles that will give global gamers a unique glimpse into India’s folklore and history. Through intricately crafted art styles and immersive sound design, each game will present an authentic, engaging experience, drawing from classic Indian tales, legends, and mythological characters.
“At 88 Games, we see storytelling as a powerful bridge between cultures. Our mission is to create games that entertain while connecting players to India’s rich history and mythology. As India’s gaming market rapidly expands, there remains a significant gap in the availability of high-quality PC and console games that showcase the country’s unique cultural identity. 88 Games aims to fill that void, by providing an exceptional gameplay experience to immerse and contribute to the growth of the video gaming industry,” stated 88 Games’ game director Shiben Bhattacharjee.
88 Games has three games in development, with its first title—launching on Xbox and PlayStation—set for a reveal at the India Game Developers Conference (IGDC) 2024.
According to Lumikai’s recent Levelling Up: State of India Interactive Media & Gaming Research FY’24 report, India’s Animation/VFX industry was valued at $1.6 billion in FY 24. The gaming market also grew by 23 million new players, reaching a total of 590 million gamers and projected to exceed $9.2 billion by FY 29, with a 20 per cent five-year CAGR.
The union cabinet, under prime minister Narendra Modi, recently approved the National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for AVGC-XR (animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, and extended reality). PM Modi also encouraged Indian game developers to make an international impact in his Independence Day address.
With 88 Pictures’ animation and VFX expertise, the launch of 88 Games is expected to further boost India’s role in the global AVGC-XR and gaming sectors.
Gaming
Dream Sports sees 100 plus exits after gaming ban forces overhaul
Company splits into eight units as real money gaming law hits revenue.
MUMBAI: For a company built on fantasy leagues, reality has suddenly rewritten the rulebook. More than 100 employees have exited Dream Sports, the parent of Dream11, after the company reorganised its operations following India’s ban on real money online gaming. The shake up came after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 came into force in August 2025, prohibiting games where users deposit money expecting winnings. The regulation struck at the heart of the fantasy gaming industry and dramatically affected Dream Sports’ core business, wiping out about 95 percent of its revenue and all of its profits.
In response, the Mumbai based company shifted into what chief executive officer Harsh Jain described as “startup mode”, splitting its operations into eight independent business units in December.
Around 700 employees were reassigned across these newly formed ventures based on their experience and interests. However, roughly 15 percent opted to leave the company.
A spokesperson for Dream Sports said many of those who exited were experienced professionals accustomed to running scaled businesses rather than early stage ventures.
“Since some of these employees were experienced with running high scale businesses and not startups, around 15 percent chose to leave and join other scaled companies or start ventures of their own,” the spokesperson said.
Despite the departures, the company noted that the attrition rate is only slightly higher than its earlier level of around 10 percent before the ban. Dream Sports now has close to 950 employees and is not currently hiring, choosing instead to focus on stabilising its existing workforce.
The restructuring has transformed Dream Sports from a fantasy gaming company into a broader sports entertainment platform. The eight units now operate independently, each focusing on different segments of the sports and technology ecosystem.
These include Dream11, sports streaming platform Fancode, sports travel service DreamSetGo, mobile game Dream Cricket and artificial intelligence initiative Dream Sports AI, which includes sports analytics platform Dream Play.
Other ventures include fintech product Dream Money, open source initiative Dream Horizon and the philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.
As part of cost saving efforts, Dream Sports also relocated its headquarters from Bandra Kurla Complex to Worli earlier this year. The new office, called Dream Sports Stadium, brings teams from its various brands together under one roof to improve collaboration and operational efficiency.
Jain had earlier said the company removed bonus lock in timelines for employees hired in recent years, allowing those who wished to leave to exit with pro rata payouts.
“We want people who are fully into the startup mode and willing to work for it, and we will share that reward if it comes,” he said.
Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports was last valued at 8 billion dollars after raising 840 million dollars in 2021 from investors including Falcon Edge Capital, DST Global, D1 Capital Partners, RedBird Capital Partners, Tiger Global Management, TPG and Footpath Ventures.
The new gaming law has forced several companies in the fantasy gaming sector to either shut down or pivot their business models, signalling a significant reset for one of India’s fastest growing digital entertainment industries.
