Gametion’s Ludo King has reached a landmark milestone for its developer and the Indian gaming industry as a whole, having become the first mobile game from the region to surpass one billion downloads on the Play Store.
The meteoric achievement comes days after Ludo King’s eighth anniversary and a nine-year journey from Gametion, the Indian developer that started out making browser games; its shift to mobile gaming in 2013 has since proven an incredibly successful decision.
More than a game
Ludo King first launched on iOS on February 20, 2016 and expanded to Android later that year. In the eight years since, it has reached players across 30 countries and 15 languages and became the first Indian mobile game to surpass one billion installs worldwide. And now, it’s reached one billion downloads on the Play Store alone.
Naturally, the free-to-play game is a digital iteration of ludo, a four-player board game itself inspired by an ancient Indian game, Pachisi. Where Ludo King started out as very much a classic ludo experience on mobile, it has since evolved with the ever-changing landscape and become a true mobile game in itself, with new modes like Rush Ludo and sub-games 7 Up Down and Snakes & Ladders all contained within it.
During the pandemic, when mobile revenues skyrocketed, Gametion also introduced a six-player mode to Ludo King, expanding the total number of potential players. This social element is supported by players’ freedom to play with anyone worldwide or to form private rooms with Facebook friends.
The game has also implemented a variety of themes over the years, such as Egyptian-style to pinball while seasonal themes like Monsoon Season have brought the Thunder Dice, Umbrella Dice and Paper Boat Dice to the game, each having unique effects on the gameplay.
"We're thrilled to announce that #LudoKing has reached an astounding one billion downloads worldwide on #PlayStore! It's been an incredible journey over the past nine years, and we couldn't have done it without our amazing community of #Ludo players. Thank you for your unwavering support and enthusiasm!" Gametion posted on LinkedIn.
"In celebration of this momentous occasion, we wanted to take a moment to thanks Ludo King team who came up with amazing features that have made Ludo King such a beloved game."
Last November, Google predicted India's yearly revenue to grow 49% until 2028, projecting a $7.5 billion valuation.
