In a notice on the publishing platform Substack, Mittal mentioned the choice got here after regrouping with buyers and the workforce. “Our US enterprise, launched simply 9 months in the past, is off to a powerful begin. However after the India ban, scaling globally would require a full recap, a reset that isn’t the very best use of capital or time,” he wrote.
This follows an earlier put up on August 21, the place Mittal confirmed that Rush, Hike’s actual cash gaming app, would shut down within the wake of the Promotion and Regulation of On-line Gaming Act 2025.
Hike had raised round $261 million from marquee buyers, together with Tiger World, Tencent, and Bharti Enterprises. At its peak, Hike Messenger claimed greater than 100 million customers. As soon as seen as India’s reply to WhatsApp, the corporate later pivoted into cell gaming and Web3 after shutting down its messaging service in 2021.
Mittal mentioned whereas capital for a world pivot might have been raised, the bigger query was whether or not “this can be a climb price pivoting for.” His reply, “For the primary time in 13 years, my reply isn’t any. Not for me, not for my workforce, and never for our buyers.”
He added that the learnings and relationships constructed by way of Hike would gas his subsequent chapter. “Closing this one isn’t the tip, it’s a reset,” he famous.
Hike had launched two merchandise after shutting down its messaging service in 2021—Vibe, an approval-only group app, and Rush, the true cash gaming service.
The ban has pressured a wave of exits and pivots throughout India’s gaming sector. Final month, WinZO mentioned it officially entered the US market after winding up its RMG enterprise in India and shifting into micro-dramas.
Cellular Premier League (MPL) halted all money-based operations within the nation and is significantly downsizing its workforce. Platforms comparable to Dream11, Gurugram-based Zupee, and Peak XV Companions-backed opinion buying and selling startup Probo have additionally seen their enterprise fashions disrupted.
ET had reported on August 21 that gaming companies are exploring alternatives, from testing abroad markets the place RMG is authorized to shifting in the direction of free, ad-supported codecs.
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