99Games has signed a deal with Yash Raj Films (YRF) to exclusively publish ‘Sultan: The Game’ based on the Salman Khan movie of the same name, reports BusinessWire. YRF mentions that in the future, the company will not just create movie-themed games, but also use concepts from the movie and release games ahead of the movie to drive audiences to first day shows.
The movie is expected to release on 8 July 8 this year, although its not clear if the game will be released with, or after the movie. 99Games and YRF have tied-up before; prior to this FAN: The Game was released based on a Shah Rukh Khan led movie. The company had also launched Dhoom: 3 The Game, again based on the movie, back in 2013. Other than games in tie up with YRF, 99Games offers games like Star Chef, SpellUp, Million Dollar Arm Game etc. on Android.
Robosoft funding: Note that in April last year, Robosoft, the parent company of 99Games, had raised a series B round of funding of ~$12 million. Post this round, subsidiaries 99Games and Global Delight would become new companies, which would not depend on Robosoft for funding. It had set up mobile games subsidiary 99Games, through which it offered games for iPhone, iPad and Android, back in 2008.
YRF HOOQ partnership: In July last year, Singtel’s video streaming service HOOQ had expanded its catalog to include movies from Yash Raj Films, including a mix of both old and new Hindi movies. The company has similar partnerships with Spuul, with which it tied up in 2013, and Hungama, with which it tied up in 2009.
Previous game tie ups:
– In January this year, Nazara Games said it would make mobile games based on Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle characters.
– In November last year, Nazara entered into a partnership with Moscow-based ZeptoLab, to publish its game Cut the Rope in the Indian subcontinent.
– In August, Hike messenger started integrating Hoppr and Tiny Mogul Games under its brand name.
– In July, Mumbai-based online casual gaming company Games2win partnered with messaging platform LINE to offer relevant games to its Indian consumer base.
– In February, Nazara tied up with CSE to develop, distribute and market games around cricketer Virat Kohli for three years. It had also signed a deal with digital celebrity network Fluence to create games based on Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan in May 2014. The same year, it also signed a multi-movie deal with Fox Star Studios to develop games on the studio’s Bollywood movies.
