This Indian gaming start-up is out to build a ‘Clash of Clans for cricket fans’

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Post the pandemic boom, the number of gamers in India is expected to cross 450 million in 2023, per a FICCI-EY report
• Hyderabad-based Hitwicket raised $3 million from Prime Venture Partners in November 2022 to expand its IPs
• More than 30% of Hitwicket's users come from overseas markets

Online gaming received a massive boost during the pandemic, with lakhs of first-time users taking to mobile gaming apps. The number of gamers in India is expected to cross 450 million in 2023, per a FICCI-EY report. 

Buoyed by these tailwinds, Hitwicket, a homegrown cricket strategy game, scored big too. In 2020, post the pandemic, Hyderabad-based Hitwicket went on to win the Prime Minister's AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge in the ‘games’ category. Prior to that, in 2018, it was also a part of Google’s Game Accelerator programme. “For mobile gaming, COVID-19 had a good impact that led to a lot of engagement, paralleling the internet usage boom made possible by Jio,” Hitwicket CEO and Co-founder Kashyap Reddy tells Business Today. “The figures have only soared post pandemic with more and more casual gamers shifting to strategy gaming.”

At present, Hitwicket counts 3 million downloads from 100 countries. Almost a third of its user base comes from overseas markets, primarily from the UK and Australia — among the top cricket-playing nations in the world. India, meanwhile, continues to be its largest market. “We engage users from 10-60, from a priest in a temple to investment bankers,” claims the founder. 

Reddy says Hitwicket’s rise has been a result of its cutting-edge tech and gameplay attracting users, including 20 per cent women gamers. “We use new-age technologies such as AI, machine learning along with extensive data analysis to drive up the user engagement… Instead of the conventional bat and ball gameplay, the core loop of our game is to manage and build an ultimate team by employing strategy elements,” he explains. 

While Hitwicket is more complex than popular casual games like Candy Crush and Ludo King, Indian users’ appetite for strategy games is on the rise too, with 5 out of the 20 top-grossing games in the country falling in that category. The Hitwicket app currently sees over 500,000 monthly active users (MAUs), with 1.3 million minutes of gameplay every day. 

Reddy shares, “Casual games have been an entry point for users to adopt mobile games. As they play, they seek more and more challenging experiences. As seen in markets across the globe, from playing simple Angry Birds, users are heavily involved in strategy games like Clash of Clans. We see the same trend unfolding in India as well.” 

To expand its game development activities and further its global reach, Hitwicket raised $3 million from Prime Venture Partners last November. “Users between the ages of 20 and 40 form the bedrock of gaming and esports communities worldwide, and India is one of the most interesting global gaming markets. Hitwicket is pushing the envelope on innovation in gaming,” Shripati Acharya, Managing Partner, Prime Venture Partners, said in a statement. 

At present, Hitwicket monetises through in-app purchases made by users. “At a later date, there will be multiple revenue streams from brand integrations to Esports registration fees,” says the founder. 

The question remains though. Can India unearth globally successful titles like Clash of Clans, PUBG, etc.? “We’ve always visualized our product as a ‘Clash of Clans for a cricket fan’,” says Reddy. “While esports viewership in India is through the roof, India is yet to produce a game that is ‘Esports IP’. This is exactly the mission we want to achieve,” he adds. 

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