Indus, the home-grown Indian battle royale mobile title, has passed five million pre-registrations and is set to enter closed beta during the “festive season” of 2023.
The title is the second battle royale title SuperGaming will be producing after their recent hit game Battle Stars. It’s worth noting the latter only added these game modes after launch, however the addition has helped to boost battle stars to over five million players and has seen the title celebrate Indian independence day with a Delhi-themed map. While these figures are impressive, Indus has already surpassed Battle Stars’ player base with pre-registration alone, suggesting the title may see great success when it eventually releases.
CEO and co-founder of SuperGaming, Roby John – who we interviewed last month – commented, “The Indus Closed Beta trailer is our attempt at showcasing the Indian gaming industry by involving aspirational real-life icons from culture, sports, and content creation as a part of it. With over five million pre-registrations so far and the support of a vocal community we firmly believe Indus is at the forefront of building India’s gaming revolution.”
A potential rival to BGMI?
Although Indus has not been posed as a potential rival to BGMI directly, it’s hard to ignore the competition that it’s going up against. BattleGrounds Mobile India was developer Krafton’s attempt to redesign PUBG for the Indian mobile market after the original title was pulled from storefronts over the developers ties to Chinese companies such asTencent. Although the game was subsequently removed, in 2023 the company was able to get their title reinstated, and since then it has proven to still be an immensely successful title.
While it’s impossible to say how much patriotism is a factor, there’s no denying Indus is positioning itself as a specifically Indian product. From the inclusion of major personalities, such as gaming YouTuber Techno Gamerz and even Olympic sharpshooter Heena Sidhu, as well as the title’s focus on an “indo-futuristic” aesthetic, it seeks to differentiate itself from other, similar titles.
With sturdy pre-registration numbers and its upcoming beta, we’ll be watching closely to see how Indus measures up, and whether SuperGaming has a bona-fide hit on their hands.
