Paytm is doubling down on e-sports as it launches another online tournament — this time with Garena’s Free Fire

• Paytm First Games has launched into another esports parternship with Garena.
• PFG will be hosting its very first Free Fire India Solos (FFIS) tournament in May and June.
• The platform has been adding nearly 75,000 players on its gaming arm on a daily basis during the lockdown period.

If you’re a fan of multiple battle royale games that you can win by being the last man standing, then you’ve probably heard of Garena’s Free Fire. Paytm First Games (PFG) is now going to host its first Free Fire India Solos (FFIS) tournament on its platform in May and June.

“The action-packed tournament is going to be a tremendous opportunity for Indian gamers to compete at a national level,” said Sudhanshu Gupta, the chief operating officer (COO) of PFG.

Known for being the gaming avenue where you can play games and earn some money as well, PFG has been aggressively trying to build inroads into the esports arena.

Paytm is going hard on gaming tournaments during the Coronavirus lockdown
Although Paytm is commonly known for its online payments and digital wallet facilities, it’s been gaining traction on the gaming front as well. Its gaming arm entered the year with 45 million registered users and total time spent on the platform cumulatively adds up to 7,700 years.

Now, it has more than half a million daily active users (DAUs), who spend up to 45 minutes per session, according to the company. As most people are forced to stay home during the lockdown, Paytm First Games saw a sudden surge of 200% growth in March with over 75,000 new users joining the platform every day.

“Esports is already growing really fast in India. With the circumstances like what we are going through now with COVID-19, it is adding more fuel to the fire,” said Gupta.

In a first, PFG and Supercell announced a partnership to host a Clash Royale tournament in India — a joint venture between Alibaba Group’s AG Holdings and One97 Communications. This was the first time that Paytm dipped its toe in the esports arena.

According to Gupta, the company only expected around 500 players to show up for the Clash Royale esports tournament. Instead, over 11,000 people signed up and the finals attracted an audience of over 70,000 viewers.

Earlier this month, on April 14, the mobile game platform teamed up with another player — Singapore’s Esports Players League (ESPL) — to host competition.

ESPL is creating an esports tournament and media network, starting with esports competitions in Asia, which will now include hosting games on Paytm First Games. This works out well because even though ESPL eventually wants to cover all platforms, it’s immediate impetus is on mobile.

With shopping and payments dropping as more people stay home, pushing on gaming is one way that Paytm can make up for its losses. India is still in the early stages of the esports revolution, but it looks like Paytm has plans to be an important part of that growth story.

See also:
Vijay Shekhar Sharma reveals plan to spin out Paytm’s different units and list them in 3 years⁠

People are depending most on Paytm and BigBasket for ordering essentials during the Covid-19 lockdown

Vijay Shekhar Sharma reveals plan to spin out Paytm’s different units and list them in 3 years⁠