Hitwicket Bags Funding To Build Strategy-Driven Cricket Gaming Studio

Homegrown multiplayer cricket gaming startup Hitwicket has raised $3 Mn in a strategic funding round from Prime Venture Partners.

The startup will use the funding to create a strategy-driven gaming studio and to scale up features across its multiplayer game.

“We are thrilled to be backed by Prime Venture Partners. They share the same vision and passion as ours for cricket and gaming in India…Hitwicket is working towards becoming the first Mobile Esports IP in the cricket games category from India and we believe that we are well positioned to drive this change in India for cricket fans across the world,” Hitwicket CEO and cofounder Kashyap Reddy said.

Hitwicket also announced the launch of its immersive multiplayer cricket strategy game called Hitwicket Superstars. The gaming platform also said that it is looking to foray into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain gaming.

It also plans to double down on organising IPL-like initiatives such as online cricket tournaments which could see daylight as soon as 2023. It also plans to create parallel revenue streams by auctioning teams and selling ad spots on the platform.

Prime Venture Partners made the investment from its $120 Mn Fund IV. This is also its first investment in the gaming sector.

“India is witnessing a massive growth in the gaming industry…Hitwicket is pushing the envelope on innovation in gaming by hosting India’s first and one-of-a-kind esports mobile gaming cricket tournament for cricket fans from across the globe. We are delighted to be a part of Hitwicket’s journey to create a global gaming franchise out of India,” Prime Venture Partners MD Shripati Acharya said. 

Founded in 2015 by Keerti Singh and Reddy, Hitwicket is a homegrown virtual multiplayer cricket game which requires gamers to plan strategy against run of the mill ‘swipe action’ cricket games. The platform deploys artificial intelligence and data analysis to drive up user engagement, and is available for use on mobile phones and tablets.

The Hyderabad-based startup was part of the Google Game Accelerator programme in 2018 and aims to become the first mobile esports intellectual property (IP) in the cricket games category in the country. 

According to the startup, Hitwicket is played by more than 3 Mn gamers across 100 countries. Of these, more than 30% users are from outside India, while the rest come from 200+ Indian cities.

The game purportedly logs 1.3 Mn minutes of game play each day, with an average user session lasting around 45 minutes. A breakdown of its user demographics reveals that 17% of the players on the platform are women, with men accounting for the rest. 

The development comes at a time when the online gaming segment is on a rise in the country. The sector has minted unicorns such as Dream11, MPL and Games 24X7. On the other hand, Nazara Technologies made its debut on the stock exchanges last year.

Meanwhile, the Centre has formed a high-level inter-ministerial panel to form clear rules for the online gaming industry. Currently, in the absence of clear regulations, many state governments have been banning various types of games.

However, the segment continues to grow on the back of a large youth population, rising disposable income, and inexpensive internet data.

According to a KPMG report, the Indian gaming industry is expected to grow 3X in value to $3.9 Bn by 2025. In addition, the number of online gamers in the country is expected to cross the 450 Mn mark by 2023.