Gaming
AA Gaming launches AA Play: India’s ultimate all-in-one gaming platform
Mumbai: AA Gaming launches AA Play, a revolutionary gaming and esports platform designed for gamers across India. The app brings together esports tournaments, community building, and digital commerce, all in one place, offering a comprehensive solution to the growing needs of the gaming ecosystem.
Developed by industry veterans, AA Play is crafted to cater to hardcore and mid-core skill-based gamers. The app will offer exciting competitions, foster connections among players, and eventually support an in-app marketplace, reshaping how gamers in India engage with each other and with games.
At launch, the app focuses on two core areas:
1. Tournaments: AA Play will provide free esports tournaments, giving players a chance to compete and win big. Aspiring esports athletes can now find regular competitions across various titles, helping them hone their skills and potentially go pro.
2. Community Building: Players can form or join communities, connecting with like-minded individuals for collaboration, meetups, and shared experiences.
A digital marketplace is planned for future updates, where gamers can purchase gaming merchandise and in-game items through a secure, user-friendly digital wallet, further enhancing the seamless gaming experience.
AA Gaming, founder and CEO, Akash Dhangar expressed his enthusiasm: “With AA Play, we are gearing up to revolutionize the gaming experience, bringing everything a gamer needs—competing, connecting, and shopping – into one exciting platform! As India’s gaming industry explodes, we’re thrilled to be at the forefront, offering a one-stop solution that puts the power in players’ hands. In the past, we focused on third-party and white-label B2B services, but this app marks a bold turning point. We’re making a giant leap towards a direct-to-consumer model, opening up incredible opportunities for innovation and new revenue streams. This is our vision for a super app that unites all things gaming in one place.”
India’s gaming industry is rapidly growing, with projections estimating it will reach a value of $1.4 billion by 2028. By then, India is expected to surpass China in the number of gamers, with a total of 730.7 million players. AA Play launches at a pivotal time to engage both new and returning gamers, contributing to the booming Indian gaming ecosystem.
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.
