Ludo King’s parent company clocks $20 million in revenue in 2020

Gametion Technologies Pvt Ltd that owns free-to-play Ludo King mobile game on Friday said that it has clocked $20 million in revenue in 2020 on the back of surge in downloads and user interest in online gaming. Ludo King, which claims to be India’s first gaming app to cross 100 million downloads, has hit 500 million downloads worldwide in December.

"We have witnessed 4X growth in revenue in 2020 especially after the sudden interest in mobile gaming during the lockdown induced by covid 19 pandemic. We are targeting 5X growth in revenue this year aiming to touch $100 million mark, heavily focusing on growing in app purchases by launching new features," said Vikash Jaiswal, founder, Gametion Technologies.

Jaiswal said that while its users from global markets such as Australia and Singapore tend to spend an average of $3‐4 on in app purchases, the figure is minuscule for the India market which needs to grow. The company is also working on introducing casual gaming tournaments (both physical and digital) which will open up sponsorship opportunities. Currently, the majority of company's revenue comes from advertising.

"In the last two years, we have realised that advertisements shouldn't be the primary source of revenue for a gaming platform. Currently, only 30% of our revenue comes from in app purchases which we want to grow. Also, in app purchases in Indian mobile gaming platforms are not well implemented which we are trying to improve upon by launching engaging features," said Jaiswal.

While the company offers Carrom and Sudoku King games, Ludo remains its flagship property. Over the last nine months, Ludo King saw its daily active users (DAUs) increase from 15 million to 32 million daily, while its monthly average users (MAUs) rose from 110 to 142 million. An average user spends about 32 mins a day over 2-3 sessions. Ludo King is played in 30 countries and available in 14 languages.

However, as businesses and offices started opening up in recent months, it has stabilised the time spent on its platform from the peak lockdown days. Consequently, the company has launched Quick Ludo mode which takes around five minutes of a player's time compared to the standard Ludo King game which takes around 15 to 40 minutes. Ludo King also has released five & six player online feature and it plans to introduce video and audio chat in the game.

"I'm expecting that this feature will become popular among young users. It can be played while travelling, in short breaks or anytime for some quick gaming fun," said Jaiswal.

Earlier Mint reported that the surge in usage of online gaming across genders has led to freemium apps witnessing 20-50% jump in ad revenues. Brands from categories such as fast-moving consumer goods, technology, automobile, smartphones, apparel and e-commerce marketplaces are using multiple ad formats to engage with users on these apps.

According to a KPMG and Google report, India's online gaming is expected to reach a market value of $1 billion with approximately 310 million online gamers by 2021.

"The entry in the casual gaming segment is low which requires a mobile device and data connectivity. Therefore, the number of casual gamers as well as the growth prospects in this segment are huge. The pay to play casual gaming market is booming in the country. The overall casual gaming segment to grow at 25 to 30% this year," said Roland Landers, chief executive of All India Gaming Federation.