Gaming
Creative Monkey Games wins Best Gaming Startup of the Year Award by FICCI
Mumbai: Creative Monkey Games, a leading mobile gaming platform, has been honoured with the prestigious ‘Best Gaming Startup of the Year’ Award at the FICCI-Bionic enabled – Future Innovation Reskilling Start-up Transformation (FIRST) 2023 Summit and Awards. This recognition underscores Creative Monkey Games’ exceptional contributions to the gaming industry and its commitment to providing immersive and innovative gaming experiences.
The FICCI-FIRST Summit and Awards, held in Chennai, celebrated Creative Monkey Games for its remarkable journey in the world of mobile gaming. The Company has gained worldwide acclaim, boasting over 40 million downloads globally and a diverse collection of more than 50 games.
Creative Monkey Games CEO, co-founder & technology entrepreneur Deepak Aravind, expressed his excitement about receiving the award, stating, “This recognition by FICCI is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team at Creative Monkey Games. Kavitha and Me founded this Company with a vision to offer the best mobile gaming experiences globally, and I am thrilled to see that vision come to life. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of mobile gaming with innovative ideas and captivating content.”
Creative Monkey Games has emerged as a frontrunner in the cricket gaming category, with titles such as World Cricket Battle 2 and Cricket Gangsta™ gaining immense popularity among players worldwide. These games offer fun-filled gameplay, cutting-edge graphics, intuitive controls, and dynamic features that redefine the mobile gaming experience. Furthermore, Creative Monkey Games is set to revolutionise the e-Sports industry by introducing Gully Cricket, a move that is expected to elevate the gaming industry to new heights.
Creative Monkey Games operates on a Freemium model, allowing users to download games for free from both the App Store and Google Play Store. The company generates revenue through in-app purchases, subscriptions and advertisements, making it accessible to a wide range of gamers.
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.
