Exclusive: MPL's Blast to Invest in Gaming Studio XSQUADS

Skill-based gaming unicorn Mobile Premier League (MPL) has made its first investment through its publishing arm, Blast, backing Surat-based game development studio XSQUADS. Launched earlier this month, Blast aims to introduce new games from both global and indie studios to the Indian market.

“Blast is in the last leg of investing $2 million XSQUADS as the terms of the deal have been sealed,” said one of the sources and talks are private. “The company is picking up a 20% stake in XSQUADS at a valuation of $10 million.”

Founded by Jemesh Lakhani, XSQUADS' flagship game, ‘ScarFall’, is an India-centric battle royale featuring realistic maps inspired by real-world locations such as Mumbai and the Andaman Nicobar Islands. The game offers multiple modes, including survival, respawnable, and TDM (Team Deathmatch).

Sources suggest that the deal will expand XSQUADS' reach by granting access to MPL’s 75 million users in India, enabling broader distribution. 

Last week, MPL launched Blast to support independent game developers worldwide in publishing and scaling their games within India. Sources suggest that Blast's free-to-play title, ‘GameDuell’ has been particularly well received, driving MPL’s decision to invest in the free-to-play gaming ecosystem due to its growing popularity.

Entrackr has reached out to both MPL and XSQUADS for further details.

Although this investment is strategic, MPL has also acquired four startups in the past five years: Good Game Exchange, GameDuell, GamingMonk, and Crevise Technologies.

Despite facing regulatory hurdles, M-League, the parent company of Mobile Premier League (MPL), saw a 22.2% increase in operating revenue, reaching Rs 1,068 crore in FY24. The company's losses also narrowed by over 21%, dropping to Rs 375 crore in the last fiscal year. Notably, MPL achieved a positive operating cash flow of Rs 157 crore in the same period.