Paytm First Games sets up Rs 10 cr fund to support local game developers

Paytm First Games on Monday said it has created a Rs 10 crore fund to provide a launchpad to homegrown developers in a bid to promote Indian culture through games. 

The launchpad is open to indigenous developers and design studios to promote innovative games focused on Indian culture and folk tales, Paytm First Games said in a blog post.

“This provides an opportunity to studios for building exciting games, which will promote gamified learning on rich Indian heritage, mythology and sporting history,” the blog post said.

Paytm First Games (PFG) will organize a series of events and hackathons to identify young talented developers and curate games that have the potential to be successful across all user segments, the statement said, adding that PFG will help the developers with technology solutions and mentorship.

“Our goal is to support over 200 talented developers, who may not have access to resources comparable to that of big studios,” Sudhanshu Gupta, Paytm First Games COO said. 

Launched in 2018, Paytm First Games is the digital gaming platform of Gamepind Entertainment, which is a joint venture between Paytm parent holding One97 Communications and Alibaba’s AGTech Holdings.

As of May, the platform had over half a million daily active gamers spending between 32 to 45 minutes playing about 100 games. It offers free to play casual games across racing, action, and shooting, among other categories.

Recently, it roped in international cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador, to “create awareness about the exciting genre of fantasy sports in the country.”

The company has also set aside Rs 300 crore for investing in growing the market for fantasy sports and other online gaming events during the financial year ended March 2021, the blogpost added.

Last month, Google had briefly yanked fintech app Paytm from its Android Play Store for a violation of its policy on gambling.