Vodafone Idea partners with Gamerji to enter e-sports segment

HIGHLIGHTS

• Vi collaborates with Gamerji to foray into e-sports segment
• Vi is present in the mobile games segment via Vi Games
• Vi Games plans to host popular Esports games across various genres

Telecom firm Vodafone Idea has collaborated with Gamerji, an e-sports start-up, to enter into the e-sports segment. The move is aimed towards strengthening its average revenue per user (Arpu), the company said in a statement.

Currently Vi is present in the mobile games segment via Vi Games, which offers more than 1,200 mobile games to users.

With this partnership, Vi Games plans to host popular Esports games across various genres such as Battle Royale, Racing, Cricket, Action Role Playing, etc. 

“The platform will have popular esports titles like New State, Free Fire Call of Duty Mobile, World Cricket Championship 3, Asphalt 9, Clash Royale during launch and will add more popular titles in due course,” the company said in a press note.

A FICCI-EY Media and Entertainment Report 2022 showed that the esports players in India saw a mammoth hike as their numbers doubled from three lakh in 2020 to six lakh in 2021. As per the report, India’s esports industry is growing at a CAGR of 46 per cent and it is expected to reach Rs 11 billion by 2025. The gaming segment is also expected to generate an economic value of around Rs 100 billion between now and FY2025.

Commenting on the launch, Avneesh Khosla, CMO, Vi said “With 5G in India, the gaming industry is likely to grow manifold. Mobile gaming has been a major focus area of growth for Vi’s content strategy in the digital era. Adding esports to our gaming catalogue was a natural progression towards making Vi App as the preferred destination for all gaming enthusiasts.”

Soham Thacker, Founder & CEO Gamerji said “ Our association with Vi will enable us to provide the experience to the larger gaming community via the Vi App and help establish esports as one of the primary competitive sports in the country.”

The telco said that Vi’s esports offering will be available for Vi users at no extra cost and the users can enjoy exciting prizes with their virtual coins.

In order to access the games, users need to follow a few steps mentioned below:

Step 1: Click on Games section on Vi app

Step 2: Pick your favourite game from esports library

Step 3: Choose the match and tournament

Step 4: Register for the matches and tournament

Step 5: Play the match and win prizes

Earlier this month, debt-ridden Vodafone Idea approved the allotment of equity shares worth Rs 16,133 crore to the government, which post-allocation has become the largest shareholder with a 33.44 per cent stake in the company.

The shares have been allocated to the government in lieu of conversion of interest dues arising from deferment of adjusted gross revenue and spectrum auction payments, the company said in a regulatory filing.

''...it is hereby informed that the board of directors of the company has, at its meeting held today approved the allotment of 16,133,198,899 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each at an issue price of Rs 10 per equity share aggregating to Rs 161,331,848,990 to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Government of India,'' the company said.

Also Read: Vodafone Idea Q3 results: Net loss widens to Rs 7,990 cr; ARPU improves marginally