Made-in-India battle royale game 'Indus' nears closed beta launch; clocks 5 million pre-registrations

Indus is the most ambitious title for SuperGaming, which has previously developed games such as MaskGun, Silly Royale, Battle Stars, and Tower Conquest

Pune-based game development firm SuperGaming announced on August 13 plans to release its made-in-India battle royale title Indus in closed beta in the next few months, targeting the upcoming festive season, the company said on August 13.

It also said the title has clocked over five million pre-registrations, nearly seven months after the startup began pre-registrations in January 2023.

The closed beta of the game will be limited to a specific number of players, and access will be granted through a product key, which the company intends to share with its Discord community server, it said. The beta will include the battle royale mode, as well as features from the startup's earlier community playtests.

"The Indus closed beta trailer is our attempt at showcasing the Indian gaming industry by involving aspirational real

-life icons from culture, sports, and content creation as a part of it."

Futuristic background

The game, which is heavily inspired by Indian culture and mythology, features the Indus Valley civilisation as the backdrop of the story and is set in ‘Indo-Futurism,’ which the company describes as a futuristic world that is “unapologetically Indian in its exploration and representation of science fiction.”

Read: How SuperGaming plans to build India's Fortnite with Indus

Along with the closed beta announcement, SuperGaming unveiled a cinematic trailer for the game, with several characters voiced by prominent personalities and creators such as Olympic pistol shooter Heena Sidhu, Indian gaming YouTuber Techno Gamerz (Ujjwal Chaurasia), as well as popular content creators such as Magsplay (Mansi Gupta) and GamerFleet (Anshu Bisht).

It also showcases the game's island map, weapons, and avatars besides highlighting multiple locations featured in the game.

This is the most ambitious title for the startup, which previously developed games such as the multiplayer shooter title MaskGun, which claims to have clocked over 65 million players since its inception, and social deduction title Silly Royale, which claims to have registered over 20 million players.

"The Indus closed beta trailer is our attempt at showcasing the Indian gaming industry by involving aspirational real-life icons from culture, sports, and content creation as a part of it," says SuperGaming co-founder Roby John.

Mid-core games, which include battle royale games, were the fastest-growing games category in FY22 and generated combined revenues of about $550 million in the country, according to a report by gaming and interactive media venture fund Lumikai.

These games, which typically offer a more complex gaming experience than casual games, thereby requiring players to use their skill and strategy to progress, is expected to be the biggest revenue growth driver for the country's gaming industry in the forthcoming years, the report said.

Battle Stars gets Delhi-inspired map

Last week, SuperGaming also announced its casual battle royale title Battle Stars is adding a new in-game map inspired by the national capital city New Delhi. The map will feature several prominent landmarks such as the India Gate, Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the Connaught Place among others.

A screenshot of Battle Stars Delhi Map

The game has clocked over 5 million players across the world since its launch in May 2023, making it the fastest-growing game for the company, it said.

“Season 2 of Battle Stars saw a staggering 20 million matches played, we wanted to take the experience further by bringing Delhi to the game,” says Christelle D'cruz, Battle Stars Game Lead and co-founder at SuperGaming. “To do this, we visited Delhi to capture its vibe and culture to bring it in-game as well as taking inputs from the community”

Available as a free download on Google Play and App Store, the title allows users to join a four-player team with their online friends or a private clan and compete against opponents in a fast-paced battle. It will feature multiple heroes, each with its own unique set of weapons, strengths, and abilities.

Techno Gamerz also features in the title as a playable character within the game along with a task (quest), wherein he will deliver personalised video messages for new missions and challenges.