Zupee is an online gaming platform where users can play small games and earn money. The company was founded by Dilsher Malhi and Siddhant Saurabh back in 2018. The platform offers Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, and Carrom games where one can play against other human players to win. Winners get the winning amount. So, you can earn real money by playing these games. The company has raised several rounds of funding to date.
The revenue of the online gaming industry in FY 21 was at Rs. 13600 and casual gaming contributed Rs. 6,020 crores to this revenue. Zupee is one of the companies offering casual gaming platforms. The company has already achieved 70 million app installs and has seen good growth recently. When a platform deals with skill-based gaming and real money, technology becomes an important part of the platform to ensure fair play and a safe platform. I recently got time to have a conversation with Jyoti Gupta who is serving as the Vice President of Engineering at Zupee. I asked several questions about Zupee’s growth and the technologies it is using.
1. Today VR and AR are growing in popularity. However, these tools are still not very common in the industry because of cost and availability. Is Zupee using them to its benefit? If yes, then how?
The online gaming industry has merely touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the large-scale use of AR and VR. As VR and AR hardware scales, players will be able to enjoy far superior levels of engagement in a personalized and mesmeric environment, increasing immersion as well as interaction. We are currently watching the space for more information on how we can use this technology to our advantage. We are also investigating additional use cases relevant to the real money gaming industry.
2. Technologies such as blockchain have not only opened newer pathways for developers but have also provided transparent and robust security measures to players who are now transitioning from Pay2Win to Play2Earn. How does Zupee look at it?
Blockchain is positioned to have a significant impact on the gaming industry, thanks to its capacity to produce one-of-a-kind in-game objects, safeguard player data, and offer decentralization. It can also contribute to a more immersive gaming experience, which is another potential advantage. In the current web 2.0 world, there are a lot of trust issues when it comes to putting money into an App. There are always questions from the end customers about how to confidently say that the game is not tampered, and the outcome is fair. This problem can be solved with blockchain as it is completely decentralized and there is a history to all the actions which can be audited by anyone at anytime. Zupee is completely game-on for making this wonderful technology a part of its ecosystem. We are looking to utilize blockchain fundamentals to increase trust in the system.
3. How do you ensure fair play? Are there some responsible measures at the engineering level that Zupee has taken while keeping consumers at the forefront?
We at Zupee take all the responsible measures to ensure player protection such as RNG certification, no bots play and payment protection, among others. We have certified our code for random number generation, which produces any outcome with equal probability. We are also heavily invested in securing customer data and developing machine-learning models to detect and penalize fraudsters. Additionally, we have further built security and transparency by adding layers of permissions such as taking players’ consent for personal information at the Registration stage like phone no, email ID, name, location, etc. Only 18+ users are allowed to play and before each game, rules are explained to aid player education. Also, Zupee games are time-based and playable with low ticket sizes and are also available in the ‘Free to play’ model.
4. What are the top trends that the Online Gaming Industry will witness with respect to technology in 2023.
The day when playing video games was only a pastime is long gone, and it’s a thriving industry now significantly contributing to the national economy. The increased popularity of online gaming is encouraging young people to choose gaming as a viable career. These games may be recreated online with a higher emphasis on the predominance of skill while playing to generate value, while also delivering moments of fun, by using current technologies like game design, programming, machine learning, etc. In 2023, more individuals will be viewing the gaming industry as a lucrative career path. Factors like the national rollout of 5G, the intervention of AR/VR, and the use of Blockchain to further enhance consumer security will play a pivotal role in online gaming in 2023. This year will be more about building high-quality, interactive games on mobile as our audience has moved to a mobile-heavy audience.
5. How do you think 5G is going to accelerate the online gaming industry?
With the introduction of 5G, the casual gaming sector of the internet will advance significantly. With 5G, download rates will increase with higher internet speed, making the experience more fluid. It is especially important for users that engage in skill-based online gaming since it facilitates a smoother and quicker user experience. Cloud-based gaming will also benefit from the addition of 5G, as this type of game requires a fast, reliable, and low-latency network to operate well. As already mentioned, after processing the user’s control inputs, the server strives to transmit the outcome as quickly as it can. Therefore, it all boils down to how quickly the server can process user input without experiencing a lot of latency, as even a small delay may ruin a user’s strategic gaming moves.
6. Is there any extent to which a person can lose while playing on Zupee?
Zupee is a responsible gaming company providing meaningful entertainment that brings moments of joy to a user’s life. Zupee aims at promoting responsible gaming and abides by all applicable laws and regulations when operating a skill-based real-money gaming company. We have designed our games to be ‘free to play’ or to begin with a small ticket size as low as Rs. 1 and by doing so, we empower our users to choose as per their own free will. The games are deliberately designed in short formats lasting 8 to 10 minutes to encourage players to take frequent breaks and to ensure that no player becomes too engrossed in gaming for an extended period.
