BUSINESS
Ahead of Asia Cup, Ashneer Grover's CrickPe debuts paid subscriptions with zero platform fees
The launch comes at a time when India's real-money gaming industry has been hit hard by the government's decision to impose a whopping 28 percent GST on player deposits
BUSINESS
Indian gaming industry to shape entertainment for next generation: JetSynthesys' Rajan Navani
Gaming-led entertainment as a global play out of India will be the key focus area for JetSynthesys for the next 3-5 years, Navani said.
BUSINESS
Snap appoints former Google executive Pulkit Trivedi as India managing director
Snapchat parent also unveiled a new operational structure wherein all local teams will directly report to Pulkit Trivedi
BUSINESS
YouTube launches Music AI incubator with Universal Music Group in generative AI push
Universal Music artists, songwriters and producers will explore, experiment and offer feedback on YouTube's AI-related music tools and product experiments.
BUSINESS
Online poker platform Spartan Poker lays off 125 people after 28% GST blow
Spartan Poker joins a list of companies including Mobile Premier League and Hike's Rush Gaming who have cut jobs after the government's 28 percent GST on the real-money gaming sector.
BUSINESS
Nazara Technologies to invest $500,000 in Israeli gaming startup Snax Games
Nazara Technologies has also acquired exclusive rights to publish the Israeli startup's games in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East on a revenue-sharing basis for five years
BUSINESS
IndiGG owner Kratos Studios ramps up global expansion with Brazil launch
Founded by ex-Nazara CEO Manish Agarwal, the community-based gaming startup claims to have disbursed Rs 5 crore among 1.5 lakh gamers in India in 6 months.
BUSINESS
Explained: GST Council’s 28% tax on India’s real-money gaming sector
What are the key differences between the proposed GST levy and the current regime for online real-money gaming sector and who will be the most impacted? We take a look
BUSINESS
Hike's Rush Gaming Universe axes 55 jobs as 28% GST bites
These cutbacks represent about 22 percent of the company's workforce
BUSINESS
Disney+ Hotstar loses 12.5 million subscribers in its biggest-ever quarterly drop
Disney+ Hotstar's paid member base plunged to 40.4 million for the quarter, marking the third consecutive subscriber decline at the Disney-owned streaming service.
BUSINESS
BGMI maker Krafton to invest $150 million on Indian gaming and entertainment startups
Krafton's renewed investment pledge follows its earlier investment of $140 million across 11 Indian startups since March 2021.
BUSINESS
Slack's new redesign brings in unified view, dedicated DM tab and more
Slack's redesigned interface aims to help people become more productive and give quicker access to a growing set of tools in its application
BUSINESS
MPL to lay off 350 employees after 28% GST on real-money gaming
The new GST rules will increase the company's tax burden by as much as 350 percent-400 percent, MPL co-founders Sai Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra told employees in an email
BUSINESS
Japan's Mixi debuts $50 million fund to back India's early-stage entertainment startups
Mixi, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is looking at India as the entry point for its global expansion
BUSINESS
Madras HC dismisses pleas of Indian startups against Google's app billing policy
Indian startups had approached the Madras High Court challenging Google's notice to either adopt its new app billing policy or face delisting from the app marketplace.
BUSINESS
Apple's new retail stores in India beating expectations, says CEO Tim Cook
India, the world's second-largest smartphone market, presents a huge opportunity for the iPhone maker, Cook said.
BUSINESS
'Will set the real-money gaming industry back several years': Stakeholders after GST set at 28%
The substantial increase in tax liability will result in the survival of only established and well entrenched skill gaming companies, say industry stakeholders.
BUSINESS
Nazara Tech hires industry veteran to grow its freemium gaming business
Nazara Technologies is looking to acquire more gaming studios to expand its freemium gaming business, founder Nitish Mittersain said.
BUSINESS
Real-money gaming sector offers formula to resolve 28% GST woes
GST levy on net deposits will likely help companies with player retention, sources told Moneycontrol
TECHNOLOGY
WhatsApp now allows users to send quick video messages
WhatsApp video messages allows users to record and share short 60-second videos directly in the chat window.
BUSINESS
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees Threads as the next billion-user social network
Zuckerberg has said Threads is likely the biggest example of its "year of efficiency" efforts so far. He also said there is no immediate plan to monetise the service
BUSINESS
Gaming studios to govt: Need clear distinction between video games & RMG after 28% GST proposal
A consortium of over 45 Indian video gaming companies have written to the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
BUSINESS
Generative AI helping us reimagine Search, other products: Alphabet's Sundar Pichai
Advertising is coming to Google's generative AI search product, with the company currently testing ad placements and formats, Pichai said.
BUSINESS
Instagram's Threads starts rolling out much-requested Following feed
Instagram's Threads is rolling a series of features a day after Elon Musk renamed social media platform Twitter as X.
