Gaming
ASUS unveils ROG Academy Season 10 to empower esports stars in CS:2
Mumbai: ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) has announced the launch of the highly anticipated Season 10 of the ROG Academy to nurture India’s top talents in Counter Strike 2 (CS2) and offer them a platform to excel.
ROG Academy is the longest-running esports incubator program designed to help aspiring esports professionals succeed by providing the resources, infrastructure, and expertise needed to turn their passion into a career. The program features a detailed curriculum created by industry experts that covers essential areas like communication, individual skills, and teamwork.
Registration for Season 10 has begun. After this, shortlisted candidates will undergo tryouts, which include in-game assessments, expert interviews, and psychometric tests. Six chosen players will join the program, where they will sign contracts with the ROG Team and receive a monthly stipend, compensation for internet bills, and high-end ROG gear for remote practice.
Players will receive intensive training from a dedicated coach, focusing on game mechanics, teamwork, and competitive play. Upon successful completion, they will be awarded a Certificate of Completion and an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh.
The ROG Academy also hosts guest sessions on an array of topics. Some of these have been sports psychology, PR, and esports management during the previous seasons. Additionally, players will gain competitive experience through tournament participation, enhancing their exposure and opportunities in the gaming community.
Expressing his excitement ahead of the new season, ASUS India vice president, consumer and gaming pc, system business group Arnold Su said, “ASUS ROG Academy has consistently been at the forefront of nurturing esports talent in India. Our extensive training program, combined with industry expertise and competitive opportunities, has effectively prepared participants for successful careers in esports over nine consecutive seasons across various titles. We are delighted to continue this tradition with Season 10, providing a robust platform for aspiring gamers to refine their skills in Counter Strike 2. As esports continues to grow in India and make its way into the Olympics, we eagerly anticipate witnessing the next generation of esports professionals emerge from this initiative in the future.”
Since its launch, ASUS ROG Academy has garnered over 15,000 registrations and trained 54 players across nine seasons. Over 15 of these players have secured positions with top-tier organisations. Last season, the academy’s players competed in 21 tournaments, including the Dust2 India – 1xBet Cup Open Qualifier, Sky Championship India Qualifier, and ESL Challenger Jonkoping – Asia Qualifier, achieving quarterfinal and semifinal placements in several events.
Additionally, talents like Gourav “Rayzer” Panwar and Anirudh “ChAmP” Aurange secured placements in the prominent team Victores Sumus (formerly 2EZ Gaming). The season also included insightful guest sessions from Dr Michelle Pain, a sports psychologist with Global Esports, and Peter “casle” Ardenskjold, coach of Gaimin Gladiators, who shared valuable expertise on mental fitness, gameplay enhancement, and communication.
As ASUS ROG Academy continues to pave the way for the future of esports in India, aspiring gamers are encouraged to register for Season 10 and take the first step towards a professional esports career.
Interested candidates can register at: https://asus.in/ROG-academy/
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.
