Games made in India get special love from Indian gamers

Interview/ Dayanidhi M.G., founder & CEO of nCore

Dayanidhi M.G. Dayanidhi M.G.

During the intensely restrictive lockdown, many people ‘kept company’ not just by Zoom calls or WhatsApp, but also by immersing themselves in online games. One of the intended repercussions of the Sino-Indian border skirmish last year, however, was a ban by the miffed Indian government on the hugely popular multiplayer game Player Unknown Battlegrounds, or PUBG. Though developed by a South Korean gaming company, the mobile version of the game was published by China’s Tencent Games.

PUBG’s loss turned out to be FAU-G’s gain. FAU-G, or Fearless and United Guards, is an online multiplayer action game from Bengaluru-based nCore launched on Republic Day. It strode the ‘vocal for local’ anti-China wave, and some smart soft marketing from the likes of actor Akshay Kumar, to position itself as the desi alternative to PUBG. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Dayanidhi M.G., founder and CEO of nCore:

How did the idea for FAU-G come about?

In 2019, Vishal Gondal, known as the father of gaming in India, joined us as a co-founder. In March [2020], we started developing a multiplayer shooting game. When the Galwan Valley incident happened in June, we decided to pause it and develop one mode of the game with hand combat mechanics and melee weapons based on the real incident in the valley. We had an uphill task of completing the development when the incident was fresh in the minds of Indian gamers.

Akshay Kumar actively promoted the game.

When Vishal mentioned the game we were developing, he took a keen interest and started working closely with nCore’s team. He even came up with the name FAU-G and gave inputs through the development cycle of the game. Given his popularity and fan following, the game’s promotion by him was instrumental in driving curiosity about the game first and installs eventually.

Initially, there were some worries over dropping PlayStore ratings

There was a record 40 lakh pre-registrations on Google PlayStore, the highest ever for any Indian game. There were more than 50 lakh installs on the launch day with the game climbing to #1 in top charts, again a first for any game made in India. The game had a rating of 4.5 in the first three weeks. It was then launched internationally on Android and on iOS. There are more than one crore installs of the game so far, indicating its popularity among Indian gamers. There were, however, some negative rage-based ratings that brought down the rating of the game.

What would be the breakup of FAU-G’s user base?

FAU-G is a game made for Indian gamers with a storyline revolving around the brave stories of the Indian Army. Naturally, the game is played predominantly in India, followed by Indians outside India as well as game enthusiasts. About 90 per cent of the user base is from India.

What are your further plans?

We are developing two more multiplayer modes in FAU-G, namely Team Deathmatch and Free For All/Battle Royale. The story and maps will be totally Indian, thus catering to the cravings of Indian gamers to play such a game made in India with Hindi voice over and text in it. A large number of gamers with smartphones from tier 2 and 3 towns have been waiting to play these modes with relatable storylines, characters and maps.

We are also co-developing a cricket game with some big brands associated with the game. We intend to develop games based on Indian history and mythology, giving Indian gamers the long-awaited experience of playing roles of their favourite characters from our epics.

PUBG is set to make a comeback. How well placed are you to meet it head-on?

We truly believe that Indian gaming will be big to accommodate both local and international players. However, games made in India that the Indian gamers can connect well with will receive special love and adoption.

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