A game with no winners

Dhruva Interactive, India’s first gaming company, was a little ahead of its time. Today, even after 20 years, Indian game developers are yet to hit pay dirt

Dhruva began at a time when no one in India was playing PC or console games

Now, Indians are downloading more games, but few pay for them

Game developers are pouring scarce VC money in experiments

Game developers are experimenting creating local content

In December 2016, one particular acquisition slid past most of mainstream media’s eye in India. It was a small deal, after all, just $8.5 million. Starbreeze Studios, a Swedish game developer, acquired Dhruva Interactive, a 20-year-old gaming services company. $8.5 million isn’t a lot of money, so it is easy to brush it off as a small deal. Except, if you think about the kind of company that Dhruva is and the business it is in, you will probably appreciate it a little more.

Rajesh Rao, Dhruva’s 46-year-old founder, has worked on some of the biggest game titles—Microsoft Studios’ Forza Motorsport and Remedy Entertainment’s Quantum Break, among many others.

AUTHOR

Arundhati Ramanathan

Arundhati is Bengaluru-based. She is interested in how people use money in the digital age and how new economies will take shape based on that interaction. She has spent over 10 years reporting and writing on various subjects. Previous stints were at Mint, Outlook Business and Reuters.

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