Gaming
PUBG Mobile welcomes Airtel as preferred network of PMPL league
MUMBAI: As part of its mission to enable a superior and highly differentiated digital experience for its customers, Bharti Airtel will start supporting the esports dreams of millions of Indians.
Airtel will power the PUBG MOBILE Pro League (PMPL) as the preferred network of the coveted esports tournament and will also bring the best of PUBG Mobile esports on the Airtel Xstream app.
Bharti Airtel chief marketing officer Shashwat Sharma says: “Airtel has been consistently rated as India's best network by multiple global experts and we are thrilled to join forces with PMPL to power the country’s Esports revolution. We will also be bringing the best of Esports in India to our digital entertainment platforms as part of Airtel Thanks.”
The PUBG MOBILE Pro League (PMPL) South Asia will take place from 22 May to 14 June, where the top 20 teams are competing for a spot in the PUBG Mobile World League. PMPL South Asia will be broadcasted 18:00-22:20 IST (+5:30 GMT) on Friday to Sunday per week from 29 May to 14 June.
Tencent Games, PUBG MOBILE Global Esports, director James says: “PUBG MOBILE is always to deliver a good quality product and superior Esports experience to players and audiences around the world. With the help of Airtel high-speed network service, we have more confidence that players can enjoy wonderful PUBG MOBILE Esports tournaments."
PMPL is a new pro-level of competition to take place across four regions – Southeast Asia, South Asia and Americas (North and South America)- allowing teams to compete for a slice of the $5 million USD prize pool on offer from the 2020 program.
NODWIN Gaming co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee says: “Bringing together two of our partners who have shown a deep commitment to growing esports in India is the natural evolution of the ecosystem in India. In PUBG MOBILE, we have a partner who deeply understands the youth of India and in Airtel we have a partner who has deep customer insights. This is a match made in heaven”
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.
