SuperGaming, the Pune-based game development studio, has finally launched in open beta the battle royale game it has all been waiting for, Indus, on 16 August 2024. The studio developed this title for India, marking its first major milestone after more than two and a half years of hard work inspired by unique themes from Indian culture and mythology. Set in a futuristic India, Indus takes its core backdrop in the Indus Valley Civilization. Thus, setting up a refreshing and richly cultural experience within the usually formulaic battle royale genre.
Availability and Pre-Registrations
Indus is now available as a free download on the Google Play Store for Android users. iOS users can access the beta version through an invitation link provided via Apple’s TestFlight app. SuperGaming began pre-registrations for Indus on Android in January 2023, followed by iOS pre-registrations in July 2023. The game has already crossed over 12 million pre-registrations, indicating the significant interest it has garnered within the gaming community.
“With the launch of the open beta for Indus Battle Royale, we are excited to welcome a broader audience to experience the game. This phase is a vital part of our development as it allows us to gather feedback from a wider player base beyond our closed beta group,” Roby John, a co-founder of SuperGaming, said. Indus had been launched in closed beta in February 2024 before the open beta.
Gameplay Features and Mechanics
The open beta also allows players to explore the expansive map of Indus, which is full of Indian lore and architectural elements. Art is fresh when compared with other battle royales, thereby helping Indus stand out as distinctly Indian while being able to maintain the exhilarating gameplay expected from a battle royale title.
Competing in a Crowded Battle Royale Market
Indus is a very aggressive entry into the battle royale market, mostly captured by titles like Krafton’s Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and Garena’s Free Fire and global behemoths Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends. It is for the last-man-standing gameplay mechanics that has experienced popularity. A battle royale game is one where the players compete against each other in online matches; till the end, only one survives while others are eliminated in the process.
The company has optimized Indus for low-end Android smartphones that may cost about Rs 8,000 and target a much larger audience, especially in India, where gaming has picked up recently. This can be a critical factor for Indus’s success as it tries to find its niche in the extremely competitive battle royale space.
Strategic Collaborations and Global Ambitions
As SuperGaming announced its partnership with Fortnite in November 2023, the company gained the opportunity to showcase it at a global level. This collaboration will enable Indus to show its gameplay, map, and modes on Fortnite’s creator mode on PC and macOS, using the established user base for more promotion. It is a testament to the ambition that SuperGaming has regarding establishing Indus as a battle royale game in the world.
Additionally, SuperGaming is revamping its content creator program, Indus Insiders, where the participants will actually work directly with the development team. This will ensure the production of great content that will help push the unique value proposition of Indus and develop a good community-driven strategy.
Market Opportunity and Growth Prospects
The Indian gaming market is expanding at a pace more rapidly than any other in Asia—both in terms of revenue and number of gamers—a report by Niko Partners has noted. Analysts project that mobile, PC, and console games will reach a combined revenue of $943 million in 2024. Compared to the previous year, this is an increase of 13.6 percent. The market is expected to surpass $1 billion in 2025 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1 percent through 2028.
Through Indus, SuperGaming wants to tap the emerging market with a made-in-India experience bound to reverberate within local players and appeal to the global audience. With investors like Bandai Namco, Andreessen Horowitz, and Skycatcher supporting them, SuperGaming has the backings and resources to build Indus into becoming a prime player in the fray for battle royale gaming.
CONCLUSION
Indus, now in open beta, is a huge win for SuperGaming and the Indian gaming industry at large. While its unique theme, cultural, and strategic features—most notably the “Grudge” system—enhance it, elements such as these put Indus at the forefront to significantly disrupt the battle royale market. The company continues refining the game and gathering feedback while repositioning Indus as a flagship title in India’s dynamic up-and-coming gaming landscape.
The future is bright for Indus as it takes that most important first step toward becoming a truly worthy contender in the battle royale arena worldwide, all while espousing the ethos of a made-in-India game.
