PhonePe’s Indus Appstore onboards real-money gaming apps ahead of public launch

Indus Appstore is expected to allow developers to list their apps in 12 Indian languages apart from English, as well as upload media and videos to their app listings in these languages. (Picture credit: @PhonePe/X)

PhonePe's Indus Appstore announced on November 30 that it is onboarding apps from prominent real-money game developers, including Dream11, Nazara Technologies, Gameskraft, and Mobile Premier League (MPL), to its upcoming Android app store in preparation for its public launch in the coming months.

These partnerships are expected to give a major boost to Indus Appstore as the company looks to challenge the dominant Google Play Store in mobile app distribution.

Among other developers who will be onboarding their apps to the app store include A23 (Head Digital Works), Junglee Rummy, Taj Rummy, Rummy Passion, RummyCulture, RummyTime and CardBaazi.

"We are thrilled to welcome these gaming giants to the Indus Appstore family. Their expertise and commitment to delivering top-notch gaming experiences align seamlessly with our vision. Together, we look forward to crafting the next growth story in the Indian gaming industry," said Indus Appstore co-founder Akash Dongre.

Nazara Technologies COO Sudhir Kamath said, “Our dedication to bringing diverse gaming experiences to players across different platforms aligns perfectly with Indus Appstore's vision of empowering users with a variety of quality apps. We're thrilled to join this innovative platform, further expanding our reach and offering our engaging games to a broader audience.”

Moneycontrol was the first to report on PhonePe opening its mobile app store to developers in September 2023. The mobile app marketplace is currently inviting Android app developers to publish their app on the platform and will charge a zero percent fee on in-app purchases, as compared to the 15-30 percent fee levied by Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Indus Appstore is expected to allow developers to list their apps in 12 Indian languages apart from English, as well as upload media and videos to their app listings in these languages.

PhonePe said it has struck partnerships with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) such as Nokia and Lava to integrate the app store into their devices at present.

These partnerships come at a time when Google has announced that it plans to allow all types of real-money games on the Play Store that will be approved by self-regulatory bodies once the new regulatory framework is established in the country.

The announcement came after the tech giant started a year-long pilot in September 2022 to offer daily fantasy sports and rummy apps on Google Play to users in India by developers incorporated within the country. The pilot ended on September 28, 2023, and is no longer accepting new apps into the pilot programme.

Existing apps participating in the programme have been given a grace period until January 15, 2024, to remain on Google Play.

In the pilot, Google had limited the app distribution of these real-money games to only India. The company had also said that these apps should not use Google's in-app billing or be available as a paid app on the app store.

This is why Google doesn't impose any fees on these apps at the moment, unlike other apps on the Play Store. Prior to this pilot, Google had a strict policy of not allowing real-money games on its Play Store.

The tech giant is also facing regulatory scrutiny over the business practices of their app marketplace Google Play in India and several other markets.

In October 2022, the Competition Commission of India directed Google to allow third-party app stores on Google Play as part of the corrective measures in its antitrust ruling. However, the National Company Law Appellate (NCLAT) subsequently set aside this direction in March 2023.