PhonePe’s Indus Appstore Onboards Dream11, MPL, Others To Offer Wide Range Of Games

Walmart-backed digital payments app PhonePe’s newly launched Indus Appstore has roped in a clutch of Indian game developers to offer a diverse range of quality games and enable app users to innovate on the platform.

The company has onboarded Dream11, Nazara Technologies, A23, MPL, Junglee Rummy, Taj Rummy, Rummy Passion, RummyCulture, RummyTime and CardBaazi on its app publishing platform.

These game developers will be charged zero commissions on in-app payments in contrast to other app stores charging fees ranging from 15-30%, Indus Appstore said.

In September this year, the fintech decacorn announced the launch of its mobile app store, Indus Appstore, taking on Google, and invited developers to register and upload their apps using its self-serve developer platform. 

Indus Appstore aims to provide users with a more localised, contextual and personalised experience. Hence, it is available in English and 12 Indian languages, allowing users to explore the app store in their preferred language.

“Their expertise and commitment to delivering top-notch gaming experiences aligns seamlessly with our vision. Together, we look forward to crafting the next growth story in the Indian gaming industry,” said Akash Dongre, cofounder of Indus Appstore.

The company also said that Indus Appstore’s localisation feature offers content in the language of the user’s choice, which would ensure that these games have a more localised reach.

“Partnering with Indus Appstore will open avenues to reach newer audience for Gameskraft. Their ingenious video-led app discovery experience will help spark a significant wave of awareness for our apps,” said Pratik Sahu, AVP marketing at Gameskraft.

In July last year, PhonePe acquired Indus OS’ parent OSLabs, a mobile platform that enables content and app discovery for users and app developers. The homegrown app discovery platform then had over 400K multilingual Indian apps, competing with Google Play Store and Apple Store. 

It is pertinent to note that PhonePe has been on an expansion spree over the last few months. Earlier this year, the company launched a consumer-centric shopping app Pincode, built on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.

Within months, the startup announced the launch of a merchant lending marketplace taking on Paytm, which allows banks and NBFCs to offer credit to its 35 Mn merchant base. 

In August, PhonePe also ventured into stock broking with the launch of Share.Market, taking on the likes of Zerodha and Groww.

Now, PhonePe is also gearing up for the launch consumer lending services on its platform by January 2024.

The company recorded a revenue of INR 2,914 Cr in FY23, which was a 77% jump from INR 1,646 Cr in FY22.