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Indiagames and PopCap partner for GoD service
BANGALORE: Indiagames, which was acquired by UTV last year, has partnered with online casual gaming company PopCap Games to launch PopCap’s catalogue of games on the Indiagames ‘Games on Demand‘ (GoD) service. The partnership was announced at the CGA Casual Connect Seattle 2007 conference. |
After having launched a portfolio of international game titles, Indiagames will bring the PopCap titles to India. PopCap Games‘ offerings on the GoD Service will feature some of the game developers popular titles including its flagship game ‘Bejeweled‘, as well as ‘Chuzzle‘, ‘Zuma and Bookworm‘ amongst others. Indiagames CEO Vishal Gondal said, “With broadband connectivity growing exponentially in India, casual games are very important to the growth of online gaming as there are millions of Indian gamers who are experiencing gaming for the first time through our GoD service and they want to see a simple and fun experience. We believe PopCap’s games will be a welcome addition to our GoD service and will be an instant hit with our users.” |
“We are very optimistic about the prospects of casual games in India,” said PopCap’s VP for Asia Pacific James Gwertzman. “The online games market in India is just getting off the ground, and we are excited to be there at the beginning,” he added. The GoD service is an online monthly subscription based gaming service that offers a catalogue of over 300 games across multiple genres catering to gamers of all skill sets. The other titles on the catalogue include leading international titles like Age of Empires II, A3, Brian Lara’s Cricket, Flight Simulator and Lara Croft Tomb Raider amongst others. Indiagames has exclusive distribution agreements with international publishers like Atari, Activision, Codemaster, Microsoft, Cenaga, Playfirst, Sandlot, Eidos, Hipsoft, and Magnasoft amongst others. |
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
