99Games to release SRK-starrer 'FAN' game

Betting big on upcoming Shahrukh Khan starrer movie Fan, home-grown gaming studio 99Games has inked a multi-year pact with Yash Raj Films to launch their product, 'FAN: The Game', prior to the release of the film in mid-April. Slated to release on 29^th February, 'FAN: The Game' will be an online game for iOS and Android users with 75 levels in the first version, enabling the player to get closer to actor Shah Rukh Khan. After spending five months building the product, 99Games will track individual game play behaviour, since they have 'built in a lot of social elements enabling the end-user to make personal choices, without trying to be very intrusive," said 99Games CEO Rohith Bhat. Bhat estimates that they will see 20 million downloads and 3 billion minutes of game play within the first three months. "Since it requires a lot of server transaction, our team has built a system in place, which can handle over 20 million transactions on a daily basis," he added. Based on findings from their previous game 'Star Chef ', the firm has indicated that players would spend an average of 42 minutes a day. 99Games is estimating a similar amount of time to be spent on this launch. A second version of the game with 45 levels will be launched on the release date of the film in April. Looking to Bollywood as both a customer as an acquisition strategy as well as to popularise gaming, 99Games plans to create more localised Indian celebrity themed games for the end-user. “We don't want to look at the gaming business as a marketing tactic but as a strategic product that we are creating and will continue to invest in," said Manan Mehta, vice-president of marketing and merchandise at Yash Raj Films while remaining tight-lipped about investment figures.