Sai Srinivas is a big name in the Gaming world and is the co-founder and CEO of the Mobile Premier League, which is said to be the biggest esports and skill game platform in Asia. He was part of the team that started MPL back in 2018 with Sai Srinivas, having previously co-founded hardware streaming company Teewe. Sai Sai Srinivas was educated at IT Kanpur and started his career in Bengaluru at Zynga, where he was an Associate Game Designer and Associate Product Manager. He also co-founded CREO Tech, where he was also the CEO for a while. Sai Srinivas talked to the Times of India about the plans for MPL, the new gaming rules, and more.

Let’s start with an overview of your business’s performance over the past year, how has it been?

Over the past 12 months, MPL’s net revenue has increased by 80% compared to fiscal year 2022. It’s worth noting that we turned profitable in December 2022 and continue to do so in subsequent months.

We’ve been able to stay on track thanks to a few key things: a strong focus on growth, a player-centric approach to everything we do, and disciplined cost management. We’ve been able to keep infrastructure costs down while growing our user base, which has led to lower per-active user costs. We’ve also introduced some cool features that make sure our players’ security is always top of mind. We’ve also built our data analytics, so we don’t have to rely on costly 5325 solutions and we can fully integrate our data capabilities. We’re confident that if we keep these strategies going, we’ll be able to keep growing our market share and stay ahead of the competition.

Can you give some insights into the company’s strategy for expanding its market share in the highly competitive gaming space?

We’ve always wanted to be a big player in the world of gaming, and we’ve already made a lot of progress. We recently expanded our reach to Africa with our foray into Nigeria, and we’ve got two huge markets in Asia, North America and Europe with a user base of 200 million. To meet the needs of different gaming markets and cater to a wide variety of players around the world, MPL has a variety of options, like Paid Competitive Gaming, free-to-play, and even AAA ‘game development’ and Web3 games.

To differentiate ourselves in the international gaming market, we strongly believe in 2 player-centric approaches. Our top priority is to focus on the needs and requirements of players to provide them with an outstanding gaming experience. We understand the needs of gamers from various regions and cultures and tailor our products to meet their unique interests and requirements.

What are the plans or initiatives MPL has to further strengthen its presence in the Indian gaming sector?

We want to become a gaming powerhouse that caters to all aspects of ‘gaming’. We have a solid Paid Competitive Gaming portfolio and we want to be the biggest player in the Paid Competitive Gaming space not just in India but in the world. We have other big plans to grow in other areas of gaming. Last year, we started our first AAA game studio, Mayhem to create world-class games and announced our first flagship game, ‘Underworld Gang Wars’. While I can’t comment on the specifics of the game at this point, our team is working hard on the game and it’s currently in the alpha stage.

We have also recently entered the world of Webs gaming via our digital asset marketplace, GGX and we see tremendous opportunities in this emerging sector. Our team is actively exploring the possibilities that Webs technology provides. We have already seen promising results with our first game launched on our platform – Striker. I think people will be impressed with the accomplishments of Indian builders in comparison to their more well-known Western counterparts.

MPL is present across four continents, what are the challenges that you see in this expansion and how has the journey been so far? Any plans to expand to other geographies?

We’ve always wanted to have a global presence, and growing to different countries has been a great way to do that. Right now, India accounts for around 70% of our revenue, with the rest coming from outside India.

We know there are going to be bumps in the road, but we’re determined to learn from them and grow profitably. One of the key advantages we have is that we’ve built a strong gaming platform here in India. We have a large and varied user base, and our services have been tried and tested here, which has helped us gain valuable experience and prepare us for expanding to other countries. This has allowed us to cope with scale and to work more seamlessly in new markets.

Our long-term vision is to expand our global presence through partnerships or direct entry into additional markets—and to do so in a cost-effective manner. We anticipate that by the end of the next year, we will establish our presence in one or more geographies, and may enter additional geographies if conditions are favourable.

What factors do you think have contributed to the growth of gaming and esports in India in recent years?

Gaming and esports have a strong fan base in India and over the past 2-3 years, the industry has been gradually making its way to the mainstream. The availability of cheap smartphones and high-speed internet has enabled millions of Indian gamers outside the metros to play online games and compete in esports tournaments.

In addition, India has one of the largest youth populations in the world and an increasingly dynamic and talented talent pool of game developers producing top-notch games. The growing popularity and success of Indian esports players on the world stage have also motivated and inspired the next generation of gamers. Notable performances of Indian players at international tournaments have also attracted the attention and investment of the esports industry in India. Looking ahead, the new gaming regulations will further strengthen the development of this industry. These regulations are in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to make India a key player in the world of gaming.

With the introduction of regulatory bodies and the certification process for games of skill, how do you foresee these regulations impacting the gaming industry?

The new rules have a positive impact on the gaming industry as a whole. While the new rules will certainly help companies such as MPL by introducing clarity and consistency, it will also create a more level playing field between established and new developers. The validation and approval of games of skill by a regulator eliminates ambiguities and allows developers to target millions of players without restrictions imposed by platforms such as Google or Apple.

For example, if you’re a group of college students who have developed 2 quality games and think it’s a skill-based game, you can apply for certification from SRO and start monetizing your game on different platforms. This will open up thousands of opportunities for young developers.

As for our business, we expect to make some small changes once the SROs and SRSs are fully in place. However, we believe that our current practices are in line with the recommendations. We look forward to hearing more about this soon and look forward to working with these bodes.

Credit: The Times of India

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