Flipkart bolsters gaming strategy, acquires gaming startup Mech Mocha

Walmart-owned company sees strong trend of casual gamers going on to become early shoppers

E-commerce giant Flipkart has strengthened its gaming strategy through the acquisition of intellectual property (IP) from Mech Mocha, a mobile gaming start-up that runs India’s first live-social gaming platform Hello Play.
 

In addition to the acquisition of the company’s IP, Mech Mocha’s skilled gaming team will also join Flipkart. The Walmart-owned company continues to focus on developing new and innovative formats to engage with users on its platform. The firm did not reveal the financial details of the transaction.
 

Prakash Sikaria, vice-president, Flipkart, said the firm is focused on providing consumers with an opportunity to access great products and content, while giving them an engaging experience.
 

“We see many first-time e-commerce users come online through formats such as video and games, as they build familiarity with the medium,” said Sikaria, adding, “Our observations of Flipkart GameZone reflect this trend. We see a strong correlation between casual gamers becoming early shoppers on Flipkart for their digital journey.”
 

Social mobile gaming is seeing massive growth and adoption in India, as socially distanced consumers are looking for ways to connect with friends and family over games.
 

Mech Mocha’s gaming platform is uniquely placed to capture this growth. The platform today is in seven Indian languages and has over 10 games, including popular Indian multiplayer games such as ludo, carrom, snakes & ladders, and cricket.
 

“With ‘vocal for local’ being the focus for digital applications across the nation, this strategic backing of Flipkart provides us an opportunity to be part of a larger ecosystem that helps us create unique social gaming experiences for Indian users,” said Arpita Kapoor, co-founder and chief executive officer, Mech Mocha.

 

“We look forward to being a part of the Flipkart ecosystem and leveraging the Flipkart Cloud platform, super coins, reward store, and Flipkart ads platform to strengthen the platform for our users,” added Kapoor, who co-founded Mech Mocha with Mohit Rangaraju.
 

Mech Mocha has been backed by top-tier investors, including Accel Partners, Blume Ventures, and Shunwei Capital. As the Mech Mocha team joins Flipkart, they will focus on scaling up Flipkart’s gaming efforts under the leadership of Sikaria.
 

According to consulting firm RedSeer, there is a rise in new shopping models owing to changing customer demographics, including video-based and WhatsApp-based shopping. As Flipkart expands its e-commerce operations across the country, it has been making a slew of acquisitions in the past few years. These include firms such as digital payments firm PhonePe, online fashion retailer Myntra, and the Indian arm of e-commerce firm eBay.
 

It has also been making strategic investments in many tech and retail companies. Last month, it invested Rs 1,500 crore in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail for a strategic partnership. It also made a fresh round of investment in Ninjacart that connects farmers with kiranas and businesses using technology.