Paytm First Games has announced a Rs. 10 crores fund to provide a launchpad to homegrown developers and design studios. The company owned by Noida-based One97 Communications has also promised to help participating Indian developers with technology solutions and promote their games on the Paytm First Games app. In addition to the newly created fund, Paytm First Games is set to invest Rs. 300 crore in the market of fantasy sports and online gaming during the financial year 2020-21.
Through the Rs. 10 crores fund, Paytm First Games will organise a series of events and hackathons to identify young developers in India and curate their games. However, specific details about how the fund will be allocated are yet to be announced.
Paytm First Games claims that it would promote games focussed on Indian culture and folk tales to lead the digital gaming sector in the country.
“Being a homegrown company we want to play our part in enabling India’s gaming ecosystem. Our goal is to support over 200 talented developers, who may not have access to resources comparable to that of big studios,” said Sudhanshu Gupta, COO Paytm First Games, in a mailed statement.
Alongside allocating Rs. 10 crore fund for local developers and design studios, Paytm First Games is aiming to invest a total of Rs. 300 crores that will be for fantasy sports and conducting other online gaming events during the current financial year.
Paytm First Games recently hired Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador. The cricket star would help bolster its presence in the fantasy sports market that already has Dream11 and Mobile Premier League as the two key players.
The new announcement comes just a couple of weeks after Google pulled the Paytm First Games app from the Play store for violating its rules for content. The Paytm app was also removed from Google Play, but it came back shortly after.
Disclosure: Paytm’s parent company One97 is an investor in Gadgets 360.
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