SuperGaming ropes in WazirX cofounder Siddharth Menon as advisor for its crypto gaming initiatives

Pune-based game development firm SuperGaming has roped in WazirX cofounder Siddharth Menon as an advisor for its upcoming web3 initiatives that include building out its crypto platform and games.

Menon will be "deeply involved in designing the economy of these games as well as advising on the best way to harness the power of web3 to other game developers through SuperGaming's crypto platform" the company said in a statement.

"We have built over 100 games in the past with a deep focus on how to make them the most fun experiences for our players," said Roby John, CEO and co-founder, SuperGaming. "While the crypto space brings new opportunities, we want to be extremely thoughtful — and careful — with how we bring aspects of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain to our games."

Started in 2019 by John, Sreejit J, Christelle D'cruz, Navneet Waraich and Sanket Nadhani, SuperGaming is known for popular games such as MaskGun (shooting game with 60 million users) and Silly Royale (real-time social multiplayer game with 14 million users).

The startup is also developing Indus, a made-in-India battle royale game for PC, consoles, and mobile, inspired by Indian history and culture.

SuperGaming said it also has its own gaming engine for running hyperscale, real-time multiplayer games used by third-party studios with the official PAC-MAN game being the most famous one among them. It counts Akatsuki Entertainment Technology (AET) Fund, BAce Capital, Dream Incubator, and 1Up Ventures among its investors.

Blockchain games gain traction in India

Blockchain-based and non-fungible token (NFT)-based gaming firms are gaining steam in India and are expected to be one of the key trends in the sector in 2022.

In January, IndiGG, the India sub-decentralised autonomous organisation (subDAO) of Philippine play-to-earn gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG) had secured $6 million seed funding from a clutch of investors such as Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Animoca Brands.

In the same month, nCore Games, a venture co-founded by gaming veterans Vishal Gondal and Dayanidhi MG, also raised $10 million funding to expand its properties into metaverse and NFTs as well as launch new games in the Web3 and play-to-earn space. Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain also recently said at an industry event that they were exploring a foray into the nascent blockchain and NFT market.

Read: YouTube's gaming head Ryan Wyatt set to join Polygon Studios

That said, there are some concerns emerging around blockchain and crypto games. The company attributes this to the "lack of understanding around the technology and many bad actors from known influencers to shady, fly-by-night anonymous developers looking to make a quick buck at your expense"

WazirX cofounder said that while Web3 is going to change the way we play games, the way web3 games are built "is unsustainable"

"I believe it has to be built in a way that lets us protect players, investors and traders. For example: game assets need to be designed for high liquidity and for high frequency traders. I am excited to come on as advisor to SuperGaming and bring its games to web3 in a more sustainable and responsible way. It’s early days but I am very bullish on the web3 gaming space" Menon said.

Menon cofounded WazirX, India's largest cryptocurrency marketplace with over eight million users and billions in monthly volume. WazirX was acquired by Binance in 2019.

Read: ‘We are short-term global, long-term India-focused:’ 99Games founder Rohith Bhat