Gaming
A full house at the crease as E-Cricket signs 600-plus real-world stars
MUMBAI: Cricket gaming is about to get a lot more crowded in a good way. Lightfury Games has announced that its upcoming title E-Cricket will feature more than 600 officially licensed international players, making it one of the largest player rosters ever assembled for a cricket game and a first of this scale for an Indian studio.
The licensing has been secured in partnership with Winners Alliance, an athlete-centric commercial solutions firm that works closely with the World Cricketers’ Association. The deal allows LightFury to bring real-world cricketers into the game as fully playable characters, strengthening its ambition to blur the line between live cricket and virtual competition.
The roster spans major and emerging cricketing nations, including Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, West Indies, Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Uganda, the USA, Canada, the Netherlands and Italy. Big international names such as Chris Gayle, Joe Root, Rashid Khan, Pat Cummins, Jos Buttler, Travis Head, Trent Boult, Quinton de Kock, Sikandar Raza and Andre Russell are all part of the line-up, with more players set to be added in future phases.
Each licensed cricketer will be recreated with individual player models, overall ratings, and data-driven attributes designed to mirror real-life strengths, tendencies and match impact. Rather than relying on static numbers, the game uses progressive performance systems, allowing players to evolve based on in-game situations and decisions.
Beyond the numbers, E-Cricket is being built with broadcast-style presentation, dynamic AI-led commentary and tactical batting and bowling systems, aiming to ensure that no two matches play out the same way. Built on Unreal Engine 5 and designed mobile-first, the title promises high-fidelity visuals and physics tailored for handheld play.
Currently in development and slated for release in 2026, E-Cricket has already generated strong buzz following its tech demo at GDC in early 2025. With a global roster, real-world authenticity and ambitions well beyond the boundary rope, LightFury Games is signalling that Indian studios are ready to play in the big leagues of global sports gaming.
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.
