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PlayUp launches new game to engage fans during IPL
MUMBAI: PlayUp, an interactive social engagement platform for sports, has launched a new game Cricket Empires – Claim your fame.
The new game, planned to coincide with the season 5 of IPL to derive maximum mileage, will have expert inputs from Australian legend Steve Waugh, one of the key stakeholders in the PlayUp business, and Indian cricket star Rohit Sharma, who is also the company’s brand ambassador.
PlayUp India CEO Rajat Kulshrestha said, “As pioneers in interactive social engagement for Sport, we are proud to bring our expertise to creating a new genre of social games. The modern-day sports fan is extremely well-informed and demands the very best. Our understanding of Sport and Social media allows us to create products with intense engagement for fans. We have learnt from both, our very active Facebook community and our Cricket experts – Australian legend Steve Waugh and Indian Cricket star Rohit Sharma – who have been intensively involved in the design and development of this game.”
Cricket Empires, PlayUp asserts, puts users in an immersive world that they can develop as they progress through the game. Users have two main assets – their Sports City and their Teams, which can be chosen from 16 of the latest generation of international and domestic players.
Fans create their perfect Empire with the addition of facilities such as stadiums, gymnasiums, team offices and training centers. Utilising these facilities for training players leads to increased health and better health leads to improved performances in the tournaments in Cricket Empires.
PlayUp says the game is different since it establishes close connect between user strategy and the real-world performance of Cricket players. Real world performances affect the popularity and demand for players within the game and fans need to adjust their Super-16 accordingly.
Cricket Empires will be launched as a public beta in early March with a full release to follow in time for the new IPL season. Users can enjoy the game on popular Social Media platforms and from their smart phones.
For the last year’s IPL, the company had partnered Deccan Chargers and Pune Warriors India to engage with cricket fans and had invested close to Rs 50-60 million on vigorous branding strategy targeting the digital space.
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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.
