In an industry where splashy valuations and regulatory friction are an undeniable reality, Gameskraft tells a quieter, more grounded story. No VC funding. No blitzscaling tactics. Just a belief in building something people trust.
Bootstrapped, homegrown, and committed to consistency, the Bengaluru-based company has built one of India’s most profitable online skill gaming platforms, clocking over a billion gameplays annually and doing so entirely on its own terms.
At the helm is Prithvi Raj Singh, a founder who, by his own admission, didn’t fit the typical startup prototype. Raised across India in an army household, Singh credits his upbringing for the adaptability, cultural fluency, and discipline that shape his leadership today. “I grew up in multiple cities having valued the cultural differences. When that happens, you learn to listen, understand your surroundings, and adapt. And that has helped me in scaling Gameskraft into the company it is today, which is more than what a business school degree could have taught me,” says Singh.
That instinct for listening to users, markets, and his team is what shaped Gameskraft’s journey. Building from belief and scaling with substance, Singh, an engineer from NSIT Delhi, spent several years in tech roles before co-founding Gameskraft in 2017 with a friend, inside a hired room. Their play: as smartphones and data access surged, India was ripe for skill-based digital gaming, especially culturally resonant formats like rummy. It carries a deep cultural familiarity that made it a natural fit for digital adaptation.
But instead of chasing VC money, Singh chose to bootstrap. “Our goal was clear. We wanted to build a platform that was completely made in India, for India; one that people could trust,” he reflects. “We understood that if we could create value, the users would come. It was not about marketing our way to the top. It was about earning our way there, one game at a time.”
Those early days were gritty. With limited funds, working out of a small room, Singh, along with a handful of employees, juggled everything from coding to customer support, even standing in line at banks to process user withdrawals. “Building a tech company in such a competitive landscape without VC funds was definitely challenging to the point where we even had to break our FDs to fund operations. Another challenge was recruiting top talent, which proved to be a massive hurdle given that we did not have a fancy office nor the finances to attract them. However, we received a lot of support from our friends and family, which gave us the motivation and confidence to scale our operations. That period was not just hard, it was character-building,” he recalls. “You learn who you are when everything’s on the line.”
The company’s first product, RummyCulture, hit a temporary roadblock after its inaugural tournament crashed. But rather than deflect, the team reached out to users, took accountability, and went back to the drawing board to figure out what went wrong. That, Singh says, was the inflection point for Gameskraft.
It was not about marketing our way to the top. It was about earning our way there, one game at a timePrithvi Raj Singh Founder, Gameskraft
Within 2 years, Gameskraft set and then surpassed its own Guinness World Record for the largest online rummy tournament – each time raising the bar for concurrent participation on a single platform.
Stepping stone
Today, RummyCulture boasts over 15 million users, and more than 1 billion games played annually. “We turned that failure into a stepping stone and built a customer-first platform that was built on trust. And trust is the most long-lasting, scalable asset one can have.”
Unlike many of its VC-backed peers, Gameskraft hit profitability in its very first year and kept growing. Profits rose from a few crores to Rs200 crore, then Rs700 crore, peaking at Rs1,061 crore before stabilising at Rs947 crore in the most recent fiscal year despite the sector-wide impact of the 28 per cent GST.
“‘Burn rate’ is a very common term in our industry, but I never understood it,” Singh says. “We knew we did not have a big bank balance, so every rupee spent had to be justified. We weren’t kanjoos (miserly), we just knew that if we spent our money on things that mattered and scaled smartly, the results would come.”
Much of that growth is now driven by Tier-II and regional markets, where Gameskraft has doubled down with vernacular interfaces and hyper-local engagement. “India does not live in metros alone. We see ourselves as a Bharat-first company. Understanding culture across all regions – metros and T2/T3 markets alike – matters as much as understanding users.”
As the company expanded, it also made some hard calls, including the recent strategic pause of its poker platform, Pocket52. “It was not failure, it was focus,” says Singh. “We want to build a meaningful platform in this space, not just be there because it’s a promising market. To uphold our standards of trust and gameplay integrity, it was essential to pause, reflect, and reimagine the product. Scaling well means being proactive: testing, pivoting, improving. Depth and value come from clarity of direction, not scattered focus.”
Looking ahead, the company is experimenting with immersive experiences, new game formats, and exploring international opportunities, but all grounded in what Singh calls “product integrity”.
“Gameskraft is built on our principles of trust, accountability, and our customer-centric approach. We want to maintain that standard for all our products, both present and future.”
At the core of Gameskraft is its technology. “Our approach to technology has always been focused on real-world utility. Good tech is invisible, embedded into the core foundations of a company. It provides a seamless experience to consumers, functions efficiently even with basic infrastructure, and does not need to be broadcasted,” he says.
Singh further emphasises the importance of building a platform that users trust: “Even though we are termed as a gaming company, we are a tech company first. For us, tech is much more than a routine – it is a responsibility that we take very seriously,” Singh says. “Our gameplay and transaction systems prioritise fairness and transparency, embedding integrity into every aspect of our products. When users are trusting your platform with their money, you have to take full responsibility for maintaining their trust and safeguarding their funds as well. Our tech is vital in establishing a long-lasting relationship with our users.”
However, trust is not earned merely by designing great products; it comes from how you conduct business. In 2022, Gameskraft became the first gaming company to be assessed under the GST regulation, with the department alleging tax evasion despite the company following industry norms that predated its founding.
The Karnataka High Court ruled in Gameskraft’s favour. But the case soon became a sector-wide issue, with a Rs1.12 lakh crore GST demand now under Supreme Court review, making it one of the largest financial disputes in Indian gaming.
Though Singh refrains from commenting on a sub judice matter, he reiterates the company’s commitment to compliance. “We have followed the law since day one. We welcome clarity for us, and for the industry.”
Internally, Gameskraft mirrors its external clarity. Many early employees chose to overlook compensation, driven more by conviction in the company’s vision than immediate financial gain. Singh still interviews senior hires personally. “We are here today because of all our current and past employees, and I am thankful to each and every one of them. Our objective for hiring is simple: hire for the drive, not just for the talent. Sure, talent and experience are extremely important. But we actively look for candidates who have that desire to go above and beyond and create something truly amazing. Gameskraft is not a place where you climb the corporate ladder to simply cash out, it is for those looking to create unmatched experiences every day, everywhere.”
Even during regulatory turbulence, the company refused to downsize or compromise on values. “The first thing people look at during tough times is the company’s bottom line,” Singh smiles. “We did not. Instead, we looked at each other and started finding solutions about how to navigate this situation.”
Today, the company has over 700 employees, many of whom left global careers to help shape India’s gaming narrative. “We knew from the start that if we get the right people, the rest will follow,” Singh says.
CSR with soul
Gameskraft’s commitment to skill-building goes beyond the screen. Through the Gameskraft Foundation, the company supports grassroots sports and digital education: not as a CSR checkbox, but as a design principle.
“Games teach resilience and focus. And being a tech and online skill-gaming company, supporting sports and education was a natural extension of who we are,” says Singh. “We believe that it is our responsibility to give back to society in any way we can.”
With strong fundamentals, a loyal user base, and product-first DNA, Gameskraft is poised for its next phase, but Singh remains grounded. “We are not here to be the biggest player in the market. We want to be India’s most trusted company that puts customer satisfaction above everything else.”
As India’s gaming sector matures amid regulation and growth, Gameskraft offers a different kind of playbook: one built on longevity and sustainable value. “This is not just a company,” Singh says. “It’s a belief system. By focusing on trust, innovation, and long-term value, we are expanding beyond our core real-money formats. We are looking at other gaming segments and exploring global markets to bring our product excellence to a wider audience. We are not trying to win a race; we are here to reimagine what building a game tech company should look like.”