eNews
Hefty Games enters metaverse with leading influencers
Mumbai: Hefty Games has announced a partnership with leading influencers to kickstart its gaming & NFT ecosystem, and blockchain gaming in India with exclusive P2E (Play to Earn) games and a plethora of unique utilities.
To leverage the popularity of interactive gaming and its acceptance as an emerging cultural phenomenon, the company is partnering with influencers ‘Lokesh Gamer,’ ‘Gyan Gaming,’ and ‘Two Side Gamers’ who have a combined following of close to 50 million. Through this association, Hefty Games is set to launch trading cards that will allow gaming aficionados to own a collectible from their favourite gamer.
Hefty Games is a collaboration between new-age tech company House of Gaming, Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development platform Polygon, Hindustan Talkies – a media content conglomerate transforming entertainment across e-sports, games and blockchain technology, and Hungama – one of the largest digital media entertainment companies in South Asia.
“With this joining of hands between the three forerunners of the gaming fraternity and Hefty Games, we are ready to lead this innovation into Web 3.0 and the metaverse,” said House of Gaming co-founder and CEO Yash Pariani. “This much-awaited drop of India’s inaugural digital collectibles in the gaming zone would set in motion a series of drops by other gaming superstars who would feature in the Hefty Metaverse.”
As the owner of intellectual property rights of the first set of influencers, the company will soon be announcing its first drop of NFTs. The auction will be followed by the foray of other gaming superstars into the Hefty Metaverse. Via this association, Hefty Games aims to establish itself as a one-stop destination that facilitates the movement of all forms of digital art in the gaming realm onto the blockchain.
“2022 has opened an eventful slate for us, and we are excited about launching Hefty Games for the burgeoning tribe of Metaverse enthusiasts,” shared Hungama Digital Media CEO Siddhartha Roy. “With pioneers of the YouTube gaming community – Lokesh Gamer, Gyan Gaming & Two Side Gamers – on board, we are confident of revolutionising Web 3.0 in the country.”
Taking the association forward, the gamers will join the e-sports platform Indian Gaming League to host an on-ground, open-for-all tournament. Winners will be awarded exclusive prizes and a chance to be whitelisted for the exclusive NFT drop, said the statement.
In addition to the above, Hefty’s collaboration with eDAO, an entertainment and creator-focused entity, will support the growth of the Hefty ecosystem enabling users to interact and engage with their favourite gamers and artists. With more high-end creations in the pipeline, Hefty Gaming looks to enable users with access to the metaverse which is a perfect synergy of all things gaming and entertainment.
“With today’s announcement, we have been able to expand the horizon for the gaming community of India. Through Hefty Games, we have enabled gamers to monetise their worth further, and engage their followers better,” commented Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal.
“With Hefty Games, we are now enabling gamers to create value –. After the phenomenal response we received to Hefty Entertainment and Hefty Art, we are confident about the success that awaits Hefty Games,” said Hindustan Talkies co-founder Ashish Chowdhry.
eNews
PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
