Vodafone-Idea launches gaming store in partnership with Nazara Technologies

Telecom firm Vodafone-Idea has launched Vi Games, a dedicated games store within its ‘Vi’ mobile app, in partnership with gaming firm Nazara Technologies. The company said that the store already has over 1,400 games in its collection across 10 genres, and features both free and paid games.

The Vi Games service is being powered by Nazara Technologies as its initial partner, and will offer multiple games from Nazara’s stable as part of its offering. However, Avneesh Khosla, chief marketing officer at Vodafone-Idea, said during the announcement that the partnership does not restrict the telecom operator from working with other gaming companies in India, and bring their games into the offering as well.

The Vi Games service will presently offer both streamable and downloadable games on the store. Free games on the store will remain ad-supported, while paid games will be offered in two tiers – Gold and Platinum. Both the tiers can be accessed through recharge packs that can be purchased via the Vi app. For Platinum-rated games, users will be required to purchase a Rs 26 Vi Games Platinum recharge – which will remain valid for three days, and can be used to purchase one Platinum game from the store.

The Vi Games Gold recharge will cost Rs 56, and will remain valid for 30 days. Through this pack, users will be able to purchase 30 Gold-rated games from the store. Games in Gold or Platinum tiers will not feature in-app ads, and can be downloaded by a user from the store any time after the purchase.

The Gold tier will also be available as a bundled content offering through select postpaid plans, Vodafone-Idea confirmed. The telco further added that while the service remains restricted only for Vodafone-Idea users at the moment, the company might consider offering Vi Games to customers on other networks as well.

Khosla said that the impetus to build a gaming store was led by the rise of mobile gaming and increasing internet penetration in the country. “We are seeing a significant uptake of gaming consumption in India with more than 95% of gaming enthusiasts using the mobile device to enjoy a wide variety of content. Deeper penetration of smartphones and 4G availability has led to meteoric growth and adoption of gaming content making it a popular choice for fun and entertainment. We see gaming as a major focus area of our digital content strategy.”

The executive also added that the advent of 5G, and its advantage of low-latency connectivity, will further boost the gaming sector in India – and is something that the telco will look to integrate within its Vi Games service in the form of games that can be streamed through it.