Gaming
Bandai Namco doubles down on SuperGaming investment
MUMBAI: Bandai Namco Entertainment has hit the “continue” button on its investment in SuperGaming, one of India’s leading game studios, reinforcing its belief in the country’s booming gaming scene. The Japanese publisher behind legendary titles like Elden Ring, Dark Souls, One Piece, and Pac-Man has made an additional investment in SuperGaming through its startup fund 021, which was launched in 2022 to fuel new entertainment experiences and expand its global footprint.
While the exact investment amount remains undisclosed, the 021 fund typically backs startups with capital ranging from 10 million to 500 million yen ($75,000 to $3.75 million). India, along with Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, has been identified as a key growth market for Bandai Namco’s strategic expansion.
“Bandai Namco doubling down on their investment is a strong vote of confidence in our mission and our team to build world-class games and gaming infrastructure from India for India and the world,” said SuperGaming, CEO & co-founder, Roby John.
Founded in 2019, SuperGaming has gained recognition for popular mobile titles like Silly Royale, Tower Conquest, and MaskGun. The company has also developed SuperPlatform, a cloud-based live-ops game development engine that helps developers seamlessly manage and scale their games. Bandai Namco is already a customer, using SuperPlatform to power its official PAC-MAN mobile game, which has over one billion downloads.
SuperGaming’s biggest recent success is Indus Battle Royale, a made-in-India battle royale game set in an Indo-futuristic universe. Since its October 2024 launch, Indus has amassed over six million downloads and currently holds a 4.0-star rating on Google Play and 4.2 stars on the App Store.
Bandai Namco’s continued investment follows an initial funding round in March 2023, during which SuperGaming impressed with its rapid growth, deep player engagement, and commitment to high-quality game development. With backing from major investors including Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund, Skycatcher, BAce Capital, and Dream Incubator SuperGaming is quickly establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with in India’s gaming landscape.
As Bandai Namco presses forward with its India strategy, SuperGaming looks set to play at a whole new level bringing innovative, culturally rich gaming experiences to players at home and beyond.
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.
