Cricket strategy gaming app Hitwicket bolsters leadership team

A screenshot of Hitwicket Superstars game in action

Hyderabad-based gaming studio Hitwicket has bolstered its senior management with the appointment of two industry veterans - Eve Chang and Krishnakanth Mallik Chaganti, the startup announced on March 9.

Eve Chang has been appointed as the product head of Hitwicket, wherein she will be responsible for the planning the game's product roadmap, managing live operations, helping in production management, and mentoring the team.

Chang has a total 15 years of work experience and was previously serving as the product owner of Imangi Studios' hit game titles Temple Run and Temple Run 2. She has also worked at the video game publisher Electronic Arts wherein she was the product owner of the popular title Bejeweled Blitz.

Before that, Chang worked with Activision on the Call of Duty Online with Tencent as the publisher, wherein she was the producer, handling everything from production, communication, and overseeing user testing and legal approvals among others, the company said in a statement.

"India is a fast growing market and is rapidly becoming a strong mobile gaming developing force for its market and beyond. Cricket has an unparalleled fandom and loyal following worldwide" Chang said.

Meanwhile, Chaganti will head Hitwicket's engineering function, focusing on building high-performance technology teams, the startup said in a statement.

He has more than 10 years of experience in game development and had most recently co-founded Playmat, a mobile first games platform and no-code game creator. Prior to that, he was working at Electronic Arts for about eight years.

The startup stated that Chaganti has developed components or tools that have powered games from open source community projects to AAA console and mobile titles. Some of the games he has worked on include Tetris, Disney's Epic Mickey 2: The power of two (WiiU), Disney's Infinity (WiiU), Heroes of Dragon Age, Monopoly Slots, Bejeweled Stars and Plants Vs Zombies.

“We are delighted to welcome Eve and Mallik to the team as we strive to make the first global Esports IP from India. They are a perfect fit as their varied expertise will have an immediate effect in growing the momentum of Hitwicket multi-fold" said Hitwicket Cofounder Kashyap Reddy.

"Eve and Mallik’s experience in gaming particularly in growth of mobile games will help Hitwicket expand globally. We aim to establish good strong engagement with its players worldwide while maintaining robust live operations and expanding its esports presence" he added.

Founded by Reddy and Keerti Singh, Hitwicket is a strategy gaming studio that has developed an eponymous cricket strategy game Hitwicket and a multiplayer version called Hitwicket Superstars.

The company claims that over three million users play their games across over 100 countries including India, United Kingdom, and Australia, with more than 30% users from outside India, as of November 2022. It also claimed to be clocking 1.3 million minutes of game play on a daily basis, with an average user session of 45 minutes.

Chaganti said "I believe Hitwicket Superstars captures the essence and thrill of a cricket match in the most accessible way. The aim is to make Hitwicket the go-to video game for cricket akin to what FIFA is for football. This makes it an easy host to a lot of exciting features and auxiliary systems that will keep players engaged for years. I look forward to bringing my experience to the company and overseeing the technology strategy to drive further growth"