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Zapak launches Zuma game
MUMBAI: Gaming portal Zapak.com has launched the game Zuma through its partnership with ‘casual’ games publisher PopCap Games. Zapak has launched this game in the free to play and downloadable category. The online free to play version in its first week itself has given Zapak an average of 1,40,000 page views a day and 10000 users have downloaded the free trial version every day. |
While the downloadable version of Zuma on international portals is sold for $ 20, Zapak has brought in this game at a price of Rs 149. Zapak.com is the only website in India to offer this game. Zuma, which was launched by PopCap in 2003, has been a best seller in the casual games category for a long time. There have been over 25 million downloads of this game worldwide, and the game has won several awards from IGN.com, Real Arcade and Adrenaline Vault. Zapak will make available 16 games from PopCap to its users in India including Bejeweled, Big Money, AstroPop and Bookworm. All these games will be available in free to play web versions along with downloadable deluxe versions. Deluxe versions of all games will be available with a 60 minute free trial. |
Zapak Digital Entertainment COO Rohit Sharma says, “Zuma has been an enormous blockbuster in the Casual Gaming segment, it is one of the most engaging games. Zuma appeals to the broadest possible audience – it is as addictive for a five year old as for a 70 year old. Zuma is now available on Zapak and we are proud to have broken the price barrier for the Indian Audience by introducing some of the best international content at 1/10th the International pricing.” PopCap VP Asia Pacific James Gwertzman adds, “India is a growing market that everyone is taking note of. We are happy to make our entry into India with Zapak.com. Our games have been top grossers globally and we are sure the Indian audience will embrace them. Zuma is one of most popular games in the Casual Games category globally. The pricing at which Zapak is introducing it in the Indian market is sure to lure a lot of gamers.” |
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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.
