Gaming
S8ul adds global stars to CODM roster ahead of Esports World Cup 2025
MUMBAI: If Call of Duty had a multiverse, S8ul Esports just assembled the Avengers version of a roster. S8ul Esports is locked, loaded, and gunning for global glory as it unveils a turbocharged Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) lineup featuring some of the most decorated names in the game. The Indian esports juggernaut has added Jezz (USA), Frann (Indonesia) and Marvel (France) to its already promising CODM squad, ahead of its international campaign at the Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh.
Joining the elite trio are coach ZIM winner of the 2020 Best CODM Coach Award and strategic analyst Cali Gaming, who’ll be decoding gameplay and fine-tuning tactics from the sidelines. The revamped roster now includes six players from across the globe, including Indian players Samruddha (SAMs), Samartha (JOKOs) and Rishi Dubey (Trunks).
And these aren’t just flashy imports. Jezz, aged 21, was part of the squad that clinched the 2022 CODM World Championship, netting a cool 700,000 dollars (approx. Rs 6 crore) in prize money. He’s consistently placed in the Top 8 globally and recently triumphed at the Snapdragon Pro Series Season 5 – North America.
Frann brings serious heat from Southeast Asia, having won every Major Series title from Season 7 to 12 and finishing Top 8 at the 2023 World Championship. Marvel, the French phenom, adds Euro-style precision with wins at SPS Season 5 (India) and Season 6 (Europe), and a Top 5 finish at the 2021 West Finals.
With this blend of global talent and homegrown stars, S8ul becomes the only Indian organisation competing across 12 esports titles, reinforcing its ambition to be more than just dominant, it wants to be definitive.
S8ul co-founder Naman Mathur aka Mortal called the signings “a big moment for us not just as a team, but as a community.” He added that the new roster reflects S8ul’s broader vision: “To build strong, competitive teams while staying true to who we are.”
With its foot firmly on the gas and crosshairs locked on Riyadh, S8ul isn’t just playing to compete, it’s playing to rewrite the rulebook for Indian esports.
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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.
