Gaming

Game on: Finding balance between user experience and security

Stakeholders are increasing investment in security for online gaming platforms

Published

6 years ago

October 8, 2020

KOLKATA: A few years ago, online gaming was regarded as a mere recreational activity in India. With the digital ecosystem reaching a new pinnacle, the gaming industry has observed rapid expansion in terms of users as well as investment. To keep users hooked and grow the existing base, the industry is shifting its focus to quality user experience. Alongside that, the stakeholders are increasing investment in security too.

In a panel discussion at GEMS 2020, ‘Building a robust backend and infrastructure network’, moderated by indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, industry experts weighed in on factors that should be considered for user engagement and platform security.

Name of the game is user experience

With India being one of the top five mobile gaming markets in the world, Indian players are acquainted with buttery-smooth gameplay and immersive user interface, courtesy global giants like Tencent, Activision etc. If an app is in any way inferior to this golden standard, the consumers would reject it, said GOQII founder and CEO Vishal Gondal. Loco VP engineering Viral Mehta added that keeping users engaged outside of the core game should be of top priority.

Tata Communications media and entertainment services sales BD head Anand Pimprikar underscored that equal importance be accorded to pre-game and end-game experience. To this end, the use of multi-CDN and the good peering relation of delivery networks can benefit gaming platforms. Moreover, since bandwidth issue has always been a stumbling block in the Indian market, platforms should actively monitor the network to track performance and direct traffic accordingly, he said.

“Serving things through CDN helps a lot and I think a major part is that you have to write some really good fall back mechanisms. Let’s say your user has a really good 4G network and he is travelling and keeps going from 2G to 3G to 4G, you need to have a really good fallback on your backend and client both. And you render less information on his screen when he is on a lower network to make sure the critical part is always there to give him the experience of playing, ” POCKET52 co-founder and chief technology officer Satyam Verma elaborated.

Enhancing security: A work in progress

When there are more fish in the sea, the sharks gather to feast. DDoS attacks are par for the course, but attackers are becoming more and more sophisticated, said Verma. According to him, they read patterns to discover vulnerabilities; in fact, attackers are able to identify and exploit threats even before platforms flag them.

“Hence, you are the best judge for yourself to decide what is healthy traffic. You can identify these are my healthy URLs, healthy traffic, the patterns of traffic. If something is crossing that, it goes into the bad cluster, then we can put some restrictions,” Verma advised.

GAMES24X7 chief technology officer Sandeep Agarwal said there has been not a day without DDoS attack. Agarwal said that his team protects the platform at all levels using advanced software tools. Hosting an open source software on the cloud service provider has greatly helped the company. Overall, the security situation is steadily improving, Agarwal assured.

The strength of a program’s security depends on the ignorance of the user. But pirates are smart, enterprising and persistent. They cannot be eliminated, but that doesn’t mean developers are about to throw up their hands in despair.

“We keep analysing what sort of threat and attacks could come our way and the infrastructure we need to put in place in order to safeguard ourselves. We have third party services keeping those threats away. We have a team that keeps analysing those threats. It’s a continuous development,” Winzo lead backend developer Rahul Sharma said.

‘Social media and security risks go hand-in-hand’

The industry is more concerned about attackers resorting to social media networks to orchestrate security breach, GOQII’s Gondal said. Using social media, attackers can hack user credentials, compromise computers and smartphones with malware, and use phishing tactics to steal credit card, banking and other sensitive information.

Moreover, fake apps are mushrooming as well. Already, over 500 copycat Fauji apps have popped up on the Android and Apple app stores.

“We are massively struggling to get that down. These platforms don’t take any of these requests seriously. Also, there are several accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter that sell you fake ids. At one end, while there is the whole server-side security, the bigger security risk is on the social network side where people are getting fooled. Frauds are happening in real money gaming also through passwords, OTPs,” he added.

The need for cybersecurity in gaming

Online gaming has a unique kind of duality when it comes to cybersecurity. A gamer is a software user just like any other; he or she is subject to the same security risks and threats as any other user. The same security principles are just as effective and important. However, each threat also involves a unique twist, adding a complication that isn’t seen in any other field.

As security threats pose a grave challenge for all parties involved, Supercric co-founder and CEO Arvind Sivdas finds that it is better to formulate a security plan while development is in the nascent stages.

Often, gaming companies tend to overlook security aspects at the initial juncture due to funding concerns, but following the Fortnite fiasco in 2018, they should know better. Even if they cannot fix the threats at that stage, conversations such as this panel at GEMS today may direct them in the proper direction.

“When you understand a pattern of threat, attackers will come up with a new pattern. You can’t overdesign security,” Pimprikar added.

Today, attackers have more options to compromise a player’s security at their disposal than ever before. By knowing which aspects of security are the same and which are different, game companies and their customers can protect themselves, and stay safe in a way of life that’s “just for fun” while avoiding potential for real loss.

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Gaming

Checkmate Goes Digital as Chess Joins Esports Nations Cup 2026

From boards to bytes, chess readies for a nation-first showdown in Riyadh.

Published

4 months ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When pawns meet power plays, the game changes. Chess, the world’s oldest mind sport, is officially stepping deeper into the digital arena after the Esports World Cup Foundation confirmed it as one of 16 titles at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026, set to unfold in Riyadh from 2 to 29 November.

For a game synonymous with quiet halls and ticking clocks, this is a bold move. Chess at ENC 2026 promises scale, spectacle and serious competition, fielding an unprecedented 128 players and opening the board to fresh talent and underrepresented nations as the sport’s esports evolution gathers pace.

The chess competition will run from November 2 to November 8, culminating in a playoff final. The opening phase features 128 players split into 16 round-robin groups of eight, with the top four from each group advancing.

That leaves 64 players battling it out in a single-elimination playoff bracket. Early rounds will be best-of-two, while the quarterfinals onward step up to best-of-four encounters. Deadlocks will be settled via Armageddon tie-breakers, and all matches will be played in a Rapid 10+0 format, designed for speed, tension and drama.

National pride is front and centre. Of the 128 slots, 64 players will receive direct invitations based on Champions Chess Tour rankings, limited to one per nation. Another 56 players will qualify through regional online qualifiers, while eight wildcard spots round out the field.

Qualifiers will be hosted by Chess.com across seven regions, including Middle East + India + Central Asia, with two qualifier windows in June 2026. Each country can field a maximum of two players, ensuring both depth and diversity across the draw.

Chess already tasted esports stardom at the 2025 Esports World Cup, where 20 nations were represented and the intensity surprised even purists. The event ended with Magnus Carlsen lifting the title for Team Liquid, sealing chess’s credentials as a natural fit for high-stakes digital competition.

India’s top-ranked player Arjun Erigaisi called the experience “unlike any chess tournament I’ve played before”, adding that the energy of the esports stage is drawing new audiences into the game.

For commentators and fans alike, the shift to a nation-based format raises the stakes. Chessbase India co-founder Sagar Shah likened the moment to the excitement of the Chess Olympiad, while grandmaster and broadcaster Tania Sachdev said the national format adds “pride, pressure and passion” that pulls viewers in deeper.

From silent calculation to roaring crowds, chess at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 is less about moving pieces and more about moving perceptions. Checkmate, it seems, has gone fully digital.

Gaming

Road to EWC unites 230 tournaments worldwide ahead of Esports World Cup 2026

Published

4 months ago

February 5, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation has launched Road to EWC, a worldwide qualification programme for the Esports World Cup 2026, stitching together more than 230 tournaments across major esports regions into a single global competitive season.

Running from grassroots qualifiers to elite international leagues, the initiative creates a unified pathway for players and clubs to reach the Esports World Cup finals in Riyadh from 6 July to 23 August, 2026. The season integrates publisher-led ecosystems and major circuits into one calendar, offering year-round visibility for fans and structured progression for competitors.

“Road to EWC brings together the journeys that shape competitive esports,” said Esports World Cup Foundation chief product officer Faisal Bin Homran. “It gives players, clubs, publishers and fans a defined season to plan around, building a sustainable and global competitive ecosystem.”

The qualification network spans leading events including the Apex Legends Global Series, Capcom Cup, Chess.com Global Championship, EVO, Free Fire World Series, EA Sports FC Pro, Pubg Global Series, Rocket League Championship Series, Overwatch Champions Series, Tekken World Tour Finals, and official circuits for Call of Duty, League of Legends, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, Trackmania and Valorant.

Open online qualifiers will also run for titles such as Dota 2, Teamfight Tactics, Call of Duty: Warzone and Chess, widening access for emerging talent.

In 2025, more than 2,500 players from over 100 countries qualified through the Road to EWC programme. Highlights included 15-year-old Free Fire player Rasyah Rasyid becoming the youngest champion in event history, EA FC star Manuel Bachoore claiming gold, and Street Fighter icon Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun securing another major title. Team Falcons captured their second club championship following a dramatic Overwatch 2 victory.

A dedicated Road to EWC hub will track qualification events, schedules and viewing options throughout the season. Ticket sales for the Esports World Cup 2026 are now live, with international partners across the US, Europe, Middle East, India and China.

The Esports World Cup returns to Riyadh next summer, bringing together the world’s top clubs across multiple game titles to compete for the largest prize pool in esports history.

Gaming

Nintendo shares slide 10 per cent despite profit jump, hit by chip shortages

Published

4 months ago

February 4, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

KYOTO: Nintendo shares slid more than 10 per cent on Wednesday, a day after the gaming giant missed market forecasts for quarterly revenue and warned of mounting pressure from a global memory chip shortage, as per media reports.

The company beat profit expectations, posting a 24 per cent year-on-year rise, driven by strong sales of the Nintendo Switch franchise. Revenue surged 86 per cent, with the original Switch now the firm’s best-selling console since its launch in 2017.

Yet rising component costs are weighing on investor sentiment. Nintendo relies heavily on dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a segment grappling with acute shortages as artificial intelligence and data centre demand soak up supply.

Ortus Advisors head of Japanese equity strategy Andrew Jackson, said markets remain uneasy about the impact of higher memory prices on Nintendo’s margins.

President Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledged that while soaring memory costs have not yet dented results for the current financial year, prolonged price pressures could squeeze profitability.

TrendForce estimates that contract prices for conventional Dram chips in the first quarter could jump between 90 and 95 per cent from the previous quarter. A senior semiconductor industry executive recently told CNBC the shortage may last until 2027.

Kantan Games chief executive of consultancy Serkan Toto, said sustained cost inflation could force Nintendo to raise console prices: a risky move for its largely casual user base.

The company’s newest device, Switch 2, launched in June last year and already dominates its console sales mix. But analysts warn that momentum in the first year is critical for any new platform.

Concerns persist over whether Switch 2 can match the runaway success of its predecessor, despite Nintendo holding firm on its full-year sales forecast.

The outlook hinges on upcoming blockbuster releases, including Mario Tennis Fever in February and Pokémon Pokopia in March. Nintendo is also banking on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, due in April, to replicate the sales boost sparked by its 2023 hit film.

Omdia senior analyst James McWhirter, said 2026 would be a “make-or-break” year as Nintendo seeks broader mass-market appeal for Switch 2.

Nintendo shares are down more than 15 per cent so far this year.