Gaming
Match made in mayhem as BGMI hosts India’s biggest in-game wedding
MUMBAI: Love is in the (digital) air as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) pulls off the unthinkable, hosting India’s Biggest In-Game Wedding, turning virtual battlegrounds into a full-blown mandap. The three-day celebration wasn’t just a stunt, it was an emotion, a testament to how gaming isn’t just about wins and losses, but bonds forged between players.
At the heart of this heartwarming saga is Tanupreet and Jaspreet, a couple from Meerut who met over grenades and giggles inside BGMI’s multiplayer world. What began as casual team-ups soon turned into connection requests, Synergy milestones, and eventually, a virtual ‘Love Connection’ culminating in a grand digital wedding that redefined matchmaking.
From mehendi on April 8 to a sangeet on April 9 and the final shaadi ceremony on 11 April , BGMI spared no pixel. Legendary fashion designer Ritu Beri designed custom BGMI-themed wedding avatars, while singer Benny Dayal performed live in-game during the Sangeet, marking his virtual concert debut. Meanwhile, celebrity guests like Karan Johar and Neeraj Chopra played the ultimate FOMO card online: “Mera invite kahan hai?”
“BGMI today is not just about playing, it’s about belonging” said Krafton India associate director and lead of marketing Srinjoy Das. He added “This is one of our most emotional and culturally rich campaigns yet that brings together fashion, music, relationships, and storytelling all inside a game. It’s a wedding but also a powerful metaphor for how BGMI brings people together.”
“BGMI gave us more than just a game it gave us each other,” shared Tanupreet and Jaspreet. “From random team-ups to a real bond, we never imagined it would lead to this. To be married inside the game that introduced us is beyond special.”
But the celebrations don’t stop there. BGMI is inviting its 200-million-strong community to join the Shaadi Duo event from 20 May to 1 June. Players can team up in Duo Mode, take on challenges, and earn the limited-edition Space Gift Box, a reward symbolising in-game connections.
Here’s how to join the festivities:
1 Pair up with your bestie, bae, or battle buddy
2 Play Classic Mode in Duo
3 Complete challenges to unlock the exclusive gift
Importantly, this isn’t just for couples, it’s for everyone who’s found friendship, rivalry, or romance in-game. Features like Synergy, Connection Requests, and Love Connection were central to Tanupreet and Jaspreet’s journey from teammates to soulmates. BGMI wants more players to explore and experience those social layers.
The campaign, crafted by DDB Mudra Group, didn’t just stop at gameplay. Influencer wedding invitation unboxings, meme-worthy celebrity posts, and emotional fan reactions turned this into a full-fledged cultural moment. BGMI successfully blurred the line between reality and digital, redefining what a game can truly mean.
So, while others play for the chicken dinner, Tanupreet and Jaspreet played for forever.
And in a world where love can blossom in a lobby and end at a mandap, BGMI proves that sometimes your plus one is just one headshot away.
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.
