Page 16 - Online Games

India approves relaunch of Krafton's mobile game BGMI after 10-months ban

South Korea's foreign affairs and culture ministries held meetings with their Indian counterparts to help lift the ban, a Krafton Inc representative said

Tax tussle: Govt not in favour of banning foreign gaming platforms

MeitY feels these are not a security threat

Government to come up with angel tax rules for start-ups before April 30

Rajeev Chandrasekhar had admitted that the angel tax was an 'aberration' and reforms were under consideration

FinMin considering classifying online games as games of skill, chance

The Finance Ministry is considering classifying online gaming into categories of skill and chance, and levying a differential rate of GST, an official said. Online games where winning is dependent on a certain outcome or is in the nature of betting or gambling would attract 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST), while those which involve some amount of skill could be taxed at a lower 18 per cent. A final decision on the taxation on online gaming would be taken by the GST Council in its next meeting, which is likely in May or June. "All online games are not games of chance and are not in the nature of betting or gambling. The Finance Ministry will be presenting its view before the council," the official told reporters here. The task would be to differentiate between what should be a game of skill and what can be called a game of chance. Currently, online gaming attracts 18 per cent GST. The tax is levied on gross gaming revenue, which is the fees charged by online gaming portals

Paid competitive gaming growing 6x faster than overall mobile gaming: RPT

A report on Friday showed added that consumer spending on games has gone up by around 40 per cent in the last three years

Krafton re-enters India with a new game available for download in March

The company has reimagined the game for the Indian audience, bringing several new updates including full-fledged Hindi language support to provide an immersive experience for Indian gaming community

InMobi group's Nostra expects 3-fold rise in user base to 200 mn by 2024

Softbank-backed InMobi group's mobile gaming platform Nostra on Tuesday said it expects to grow its user base by close to three-fold to 200 million by 2024. Nostra, formerly Glance Gaming, said it has surpassed 75 million monthly active users in online gaming through Glance Lock Screen, making it India and Southeast Asia's largest mobile gaming platform. "Users are not only playing games on Nostra but also engaging deeply with games streams. They clocked over 470 million hours watching game streams in 2022. We plan to take Nostra's proposition that users clearly love global and aim to reach over 200 monthly active users in the next two years on the back of Glance lock screen and several other device partnerships," InMobi Group co-founder and Glance COO and President Piyush Shah said. Online gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries globally. In India alone, the online gaming market is estimated to cross USD 7 billion by 2025, the statement said. "Glance is fully committed to

Betting on outcomes of games won't be allowed; rules likely in Feb: MoS IT

Online gaming companies will not be allowed to engage in betting on the outcome of games under the principle laid in draft rules, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Monday. The minister said that as of now, all permissible online gaming will need to be registered with a self-regulatory organisation that will be accountable to the online gaming rules. "As per the principles laid under the rule, wagering on the outcome of game will not be allowed. All online gaming companies will have to register with the self-regulatory body that will decide on the action required to be taken as per the rules," Chandrasekhar said. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has published draft rules for online gaming companies and has invited comments on the same by January 17. The objective of the rule is to grow the online gaming sector and encourage innovation, he added. The minister said that he expects the online gaming rules to be ready in early February.

State governments to oversee law for online games in their jurisdictions

The states will also be asked to appoint grievance redressal executives and nodal contract executives

IT ministry appointed as nodal ministry for online gaming in India

The Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been notified as the nodal agency for e-sports

Centre appoints MeitY as the nodal ministry for gaming, to set rules soon

The industry came under scrutiny after the proliferation of games like cards, casinos, and fantasy sports among young people led to addiction and financial losses, with some reported cases of suicide

Bethesda softworks' three future games will be Xbox-exclusive: Microsoft

For years, the company has made it very obvious that it is acquiring studios to support Xbox (and Game Pass) exclusives

Nintendo releases new update for Mario Kart 7 game after 10 years

Nintendo said that the partnership will "strengthen the digitalisation" of its business which has already been incredibly successful for the company

Netflix launches new mobile games 'Kentucky Route Zero', 'Twelve Minutes'

The streaming giant said that the players will find old-school gameplay improved with new fighting mechanics and will discover adventures with a new story mode

Apple Arcade launches 'JellyCar Worlds' game, updates 'Sneaky Sasquatch'

In the arcade game 'Fruit Ninja Classic+', players can earn the new Christmas Tree Blade in its Christmas event, running December 9 through December 27

Amazon reveals anime massively multiplayer online game 'Blue Protocol'

The game is described as a multiplayer action role-playing game (RPG), which allows players to choose different roles and enjoy either the story or multiplayer mode

Epic Games not planning to build battle royale game Fortnite in VR

Sweeney told The Verge that the idea to bring Fortnite to VR will not work well

Nintendo cancels 'Smash World Tour' tournament without any warning

The championship tournament was scheduled to take place between December 9-11

Indian gamers keen in turning professional, see career growth: Report

Jobs seen as influencers, software developers, animators as industry grows in country

How is game of skill different from game of chance?

A debate around the game of skill, where people with experience have a better chance of winning and making money than the rookies and game of chance has been raging for a while now. Here's more