Game publisher Deftouch raises fresh funding in follow-on round

Deftouch (previously known as All Star Games), an Indian game publisher behind the hit cricket game- ‘King of Cricket’, has recently raised an undisclosed amount in its latest follow-on round. The round was co-led by KRAFTON India, T-Accelerate Capital, and existing investor Lumikai. It also saw participation from Play Ventures and Visceral Capital. With this fundraise, the company aims to scale King Of Cricket, develop new games, and hire best-in-class talent to scale its gaming studio. 

Founded by Ninad Bhagwat and Keshav Sunder, Deftouch is a developer and publisher of hybrid-casual mobile games, with a specific focus on the sports category. Their hit title, King of Cricket, employs a hybrid-casual approach to the cricket genre which has led it to scale to over 10M downloads and a spot in the top 3 cricket games on the Indian Playstore.

Deftouch believes that simple gameplay coupled with deep progression is an appealing combination for a cricket-loving audience base that so far has only been served by hardcore, simulation-based gaming experiences. As audiences globally gravitate towards shorter format content, the studio’s long-term plan is to use its existing playbook to expand to other sports and geographies over the coming years. 

Commenting on the fundraise, Ninad Bhagwat, CEO & Co-Founder, Deftouch said, “We are super excited to have on board KRAFTON India, T-Accelerate Capital and Visceral Capital. Their extensive industry knowledge and experience will help take us to our next milestones. We are also proud that Lumikai Fund and Play Ventures have shown continued support in this round, they have played an important role in our traction so far. At Deftouch, this year has been a revelation having served 2+ Million monthly players playing our games and 200k daily players. Our most popular game, “King of Cricket”, racked up 10 Million downloads in 2024. We aim to build the ‘T20 of Cricket games’ in a category already occupied by long format hardcore games.”

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Adding to this, Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO, KRAFTON India said “At KRAFTON India, we recognize the immense talent within our local game studios and are dedicated to empowering them. We believe these creative teams have the potential to develop engaging and innovative games that not only captivate players in India but also resonate with audiences around the world. We are very excited to collaborate with Deftouch as they continue to grow in their journey to bring newer gaming experiences to audiences. Their focus on delivering high-quality gaming experiences and their innovative approach will undoubtedly lead to new benchmarks for the gaming industry.” 

Salone Sehgal, Founding General Partner at Lumikai said, “It has been a pleasure to be part of Ninad and Keshav’s journey. As they further build on their vision to bring new gaming experiences to  Indian audiences, the team has shown remarkable grit and resilience. Their original IP of “Kings of Cricket” is scaling profitability due to their unique ad and data stack enabling best-in-class metrics catering to Indian gamers. We are glad to support them on this growth journey with KRAFTON India and TAC.”

Quintus Lai, Managing Director at T-Accelerate Capital said, “We see the Indian gaming industry at a key inflection point, with the potential to make a global impact. Deftouch’s deep expertise in game development and their data-driven approach to scaling and user acquisition, position them uniquely to seize this opportunity. We’re looking forward to partnering with them on this growth journey and supporting their vision to become a successful global gaming studio.”

Early investors of Deftouch include Kalaari Capital and angel investor Arun Venkatachalam. In 2021, the company raised $1.5 million from Lumikai and Play Ventures.