With more content verticals, ad revenue & engagement can be hiked by 40%: Yashash Agarwal

Adgully has been turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series – START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the ‘Vocal for Local’ movement and have been featuring numerous local/ homegrown businesses, brands, and Apps in the country launched in the last few years. 

Gamezop is a multi-game platform that apps can integrate to add a gaming section for their users. Gamezop also operates Quizzop, a quizzing platform that apps can add as a trivia section. Games and quizzes increase user engagement significantly within any product, besides opening a new stream of revenue. Gamezop and Quizzop take 30 minutes to integrate and can be used for free. Over 5,000 products have partnered with Gamezop. These partners include Amazon, Samsung Internet, AccuWeather, MX Player, and Paytm. More than 45 million users from across the world engage with Gamezop every month via one of their partners. 

In an interaction with Adgully, Yashash Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder, Gamezop, speaks about the growth and entrepreneurial journey of Gamezop, the gaming ecosystem in India, tackling challenges, what budding entrepreneurs should do to set up a successful venture, and more. 

Please take us through your journey as an entrepreneur. What motivated you to establish Gamezop? 

Growing up surrounded by rapidly evolving technology, I observed a significant gap in the mobile gaming industry. Despite the plethora of games and apps available, the process of finding, downloading, and deleting them was tedious and time-consuming. I realised that the mobile gaming experience lacked simplicity and required improvement. 

To tackle this issue, I developed an idea for a gaming platform that would allow hundreds of games to be instantly playable, akin to watching videos. Rather than creating yet another app, I envisioned this platform as a gaming section within other popular apps and websites. My goal was to construct a multi-gaming platform with a B2B2C distribution model, where we would find distribution partners in other apps and websites, and their users would have access to our games. Gamezop is an outcome of this vision. 

Around this time, I discussed my plans for the platform with my elder brother Gaurav, who was working with Bain & Company and had an interest in the gaming industry. After considering my ideas, he decided to quit his job, and we became co-founders of Gamezop. 

Today, Gamezop is a leading gaming platform, powering games within over 5,000 apps and websites, and engaging more than 45 million users each month. 

What was the need of Gamezop from a consumer’s perspective? What is the core business proposition? 

Despite the abundance of mobile games available today, discovering and playing them remains a cumbersome process. It involves navigating the app store, downloading a game, creating an account, and eventually uninstalling it when it loses its appeal. This outdated and repetitive cycle fails to meet the convenience standards that modern gamers demand. To put it in perspective, imagine if YouTube required users to download each video individually and play them on a separate video player. 

This is where Gamezop comes in. We provide a one-stop platform for mobile gamers, where they can easily discover and play new games without the need to install or uninstall any app. With over 350 games available on the platform, gamers can enjoy a diverse selection of titles. Our simplified process makes it more accessible for casual gamers who don't want to commit to installing apps to play games. 

As a team, we are committed to providing a new way for people to access and enjoy smartphone games. Rather than relying solely on the two major app stores, we aim to become the third major channel for game distribution. Our approach involves delivering games that are instantly playable and seamlessly integrated into the apps and websites that people already use on a daily basis. 

What were your key learnings so far? How do you see the Gamezop ecosystem progressing in 2023? 

Reflecting on my key learnings, I have come to understand the importance of adaptability and collaboration in the rapidly evolving world of technology and business. As circumstances change, it is crucial to pivot and adjust strategies accordingly, and no one person can succeed alone in this complex ecosystem. 

Looking ahead to Gamezop’s future, I am optimistic about our continued progress and success in 2023. With the popularity of mobile gaming on the rise and a growing demand for diverse and engaging content, Gamezop is well-positioned to meet the needs of this market. Our focus will remain on innovation and experimentation with new game formats and features, as well as creating personalised experiences for our users. 

One of our recent developments is Quizzop, which serves as Gamezop’s equivalent for quizzes. With over 5,000 distribution partners already in place, we were able to roll out Quizzop across our network quickly and efficiently. In 2023, our goal is to identify new content verticals that we can bring to our distribution partners in over 70 countries. We also plan to expand our physical presence in overseas markets to continue growing and serving our user base. 

How is digital helping you further your business? 

The world’s digital ecosystem is experiencing rapid growth, thanks to digitally-savvy youth, the affordability of smartphones, 5G rollout, cheap data plans, and advances in software development and cloud technology. As a result, people are spending more time than ever online, resulting in a surge of apps and websites across various categories. Our business, which primarily operates as B2B2C by placing games within other apps and websites, has benefitted from this trend. 

The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns accelerated the adoption of gaming, especially among non-gamers who became casual gamers. Although the world has gradually reverted to pre-lockdown norms, the newly converted casual gamers have sustained their interest in gaming. 

As of 2022, the global gaming industry was valued at $185 billion, and as it continues to grow, most digital players will want a piece of this large gaming pie. Many non-gaming apps and websites have already integrated game centers comprising HTML5 games within their products. You may have noticed that apps like Amazon, AccuWeather, Tata Play, Paytm, and hundreds of others have a section for games. Companies like Gamezop are well-positioned to serve their needs and grow exponentially in the process. 

How did you identify your TG? Did you carry out any feasibility study prior to starting your business? 

Gamezop operates as a B2B2C platform, relying on app and website integrations to reach end users. Therefore, identifying the right distribution partners is critical to our success. 

Our goal is to find partners who are interested in increasing engagement and monetization. By adding games to non-gaming apps or websites, advertising revenue and engagement time can increase by up to 40%. 

To achieve this, we continually conduct primary and secondary market research to identify additional content verticals suitable for B2B2C distribution. For example, our recent launch of Quizzop was a direct result of this research. We also look for key developer hubs around the world to build awareness towards our products. 

What were the challenges that you faced in your start-up journey and how did you overcome them? 

As Gamezop is a game centre that works within other apps and websites, our games need to be developed on HTML5. In order to keep the model inherently scalable, at Gamezop we don’t develop games at all; instead the games are sourced from HTML5 game developers worldwide. However, in the early days, sourcing high-quality HTML5 games was a significant challenge. The HTML5 game development ecosystem was underdeveloped, with few quality game engines available. 

Furthermore, high-quality games developed by skilled developers often had large file sizes that were unsuitable for use within other products. To address this issue, we worked closely with developers to build proprietary technology that reduces the size of each game by 80% without sacrificing quality. This technological breakthrough has enabled us to provide high-quality, bite-sized games that don’t compromise on the user experience. 

What would be your message for budding entrepreneurs? 

My suggestion would be to focus on innovation, collaboration, and adaptability. At Gamezop, we have learned that to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving market, it is essential to be open to change, to work together with others towards common goals, and to continuously innovate to meet the needs of your audience. 

One of the unique aspects of our business model is our emphasis on collaboration with our distribution partners. By working closely with them, we are able to create personalised and engaging experiences for the end users, while also benefiting our partners through increased engagement and monetisation. 

Ultimately, I believe that success in entrepreneurship comes down to a combination of hard work, resilience, and a willingness to learn and evolve. Stay true to your vision, be adaptable in the face of change, and never stop innovating.