One97 partners with Webchutney to build Next-Generation Interactive Games

The groundbreaking alliance will provide Webchutney its first partnership in the mobile gaming space, and will significantly broaden its horizon by providing the resources and support to develop, distribute and release games worldwide on multiple platforms and devices. One97 will broaden its portfolio with a new franchise from the industry's most creative, successful and proven creative agency.

"Webchutney is one of the premier studios in our industry and we are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with such a talented team," stated Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Managing Director of One97. "Together we are working on some very compelling games and experiences, with brilliant technology, beautiful art, immersive stories and deep gameplay. This alliance also underscores our long-standing commitment to foster the industry's best creative talent. Our unprecedented partnership with Webchutney will enable us to broaden our pipeline of exciting new content as we continue to strengthen our industry position and pursue long-term growth opportunities," he added.

"We chose to partner with One97 because of their reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise," said Sidharth Rao, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Webchutney. "We have been working together for the past several months on various other assignments, and it was clear to us that One97 supports our commitment to produce the most engaging experiences across multiple channels and consumer touch-points."

"The online gaming ecosystem has evolved drastically with the emergence of new platforms and devices outside of the PC in the last couple of years. Considering the pace at which smart phones are exploding around the world, users' demand for high-end and next-gen, quality gaming is bound to increase. The bigger screen and touch capability offers a very approachable platform for users who maybe new to casual gaming or games in general. And contrary to popular perception, these gamers aren't just boys at gaming cafes with high performance machines and devices. It's actually everyone else, young girls and moms included, on popular social networking sites and other platforms. Our alliance with One97 will address that 99.7%," added Sidharth.

With this association, Webchutney is building a dedicated Studio for Game Development which will work with One97 to produce games for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch platforms. The alliance will eventually develop gaming content and solutions for the entire range including Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, N-Gage, PSP, DS, and Flash. The game studio will operate as a separate business unit within Webchutney.