99Games
99Games is a privately held Indian mobile game studio founded in 2008, designing and self-publishing casual simulation games — most notably the Star Chef cooking franchise — for global iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac audiences.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersUdupi, India
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What 99Games does
99Games Online Private Limited is an Indian mobile game development and publishing studio founded in 2008 and headquartered in Udupi, Karnataka. The company designs, builds, and self-publishes casual and simulation games across iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Facebook Gameroom, with a portfolio anchored by the Star Chef cooking and restaurant-management franchise — Star Chef (2014) has surpassed 20 million downloads with a 4.7 all-time rating, and the company extended the IP with Star Chef 2 in 2024. Other notable titles include licensed Bollywood games Dhoom:3 The Game (10M+ downloads in three months) and Sultan: The Game (Google Play Best of 2016), puzzle-cooking hit Fantastic Chefs (Google Play Best of 2018), WordsWorth, SpellUp, Dream Star, and the Chess series.
The technology stack is mobile-native cross-platform game development under a product-led growth motion, with games built in-house on proprietary engines and live-ops pipelines. Star Chef 2 was specifically developed to retire technical limitations of the original game's engine and introduces multiplayer, tournaments, cruise-ship management, and farm gameplay. The company integrates HelpShift for in-game customer support, plus Facebook social login and Google sign-in for social/community features, and maintains feature parity across Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mac storefronts.
99Games monetizes via a freemium model combining in-app purchases (speed-ups, battle passes, exclusive chapters, skins, customization), auto-renewable subscriptions for dynamic premium content, and in-game advertising (rewarded video, interstitial, native banners, offerwalls). Distribution is direct-to-storefront and self-published, supported by paid user acquisition and organic discovery through Apple/Google featuring. The end customer is the global long-tail casual mobile gamer across North America, the UK, Australia, Canada, and India, with the Star Chef franchise as the dominant revenue driver. The company has raised two disclosed institutional rounds (April 2015 and January 2017) and operates a team of roughly 90 people from a purpose-built office opened in October 2022.
99Games firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 99Games
- Legal name
- 99Games Online Private Limited
- Website
- https://99games.in
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- 99Games is a privately held Indian mobile game studio founded in 2008, designing and self-publishing casual simulation games — most notably the Star Chef cooking franchise — for global iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac audiences.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
99Games industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Gaming
- NAICS
- Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Digital Game Distribution Platforms & Storefronts (PC/Mobile/Console) (MPAFABAB)
Keywords
Where 99Games is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Udupi
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
99Games business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Freemium / In-App Purchases: Free-to-play games with in-app purchases for virtual items, subscriptions, and premium content. Star Chef uses a freemium model with multi-layered opportunities for in-app purchases including speed-ups, battle passes, exclusive chapters, skins, and customization options. The company has achieved ROI positivity from day one for their freemium titles.
- Advertising: Games monetize through in-game advertisements including rewarded video ads, interstitial ads, native banner ads, and offerwalls.
- Auto-Renewable Subscriptions: Dynamic content subscriptions that renew automatically for set periods, allowing users to purchase premium content on an ongoing basis.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Freemium with in-app purchases |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
99Games product offering
Product offeringCore offering
99Games develops and publishes freemium mobile games for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Facebook Gameroom platforms. Its core offering is the Star Chef franchise — cooking and restaurant management simulation games featuring social play, tournaments, customization, and global leaderboards — alongside other casual titles such as Fantastic Chefs, WordsWorth, Dream Star, SpellUp, and licensed Bollywood IP games like Dhoom:3 The Game and Sultan: The Game. Games are monetized through in-app purchases, auto-renewable subscriptions, and in-game advertising.
Product overview
99Games is a mobile gaming studio specializing in simulation and casual games. The company operates a portfolio of game titles across iOS, Android, Windows, Facebook Gameroom, and Mac platforms, using primarily a freemium monetization model. The core products include the Star Chef franchise (Star Chef and Star Chef 2) as flagship cooking simulation games, along with licensed Bollywood IP games (Dhoom:3 The Game, Sultan: The Game), puzzle games (Fantastic Chefs, WordsWorth, SpellUp), and the freemium pioneer Dream Star. The games integrate social features for community play, incorporate in-app purchases for monetization, and leverage analytics for game optimization.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Star Chef: Flagship cooking and restaurant management mobile game with freemium model, achieving 20 million downloads and 4.7 ratings with 7 awards.
- Star Chef 2
- Fantastic Chefs
- Dhoom: 3 The Game
- Sultan: The Game
Products and services
- Star Chef 2 Cooking and restaurant management simulation game featuring advanced graphics with farm management, cruise ship dining, cooking tournaments, celebrity interactions, and multiplayer community features. Players cook, bake, and grill recipes from around the world, renovate restaurants, and compete in real-time cooking challenges to climb global leaderboards. Available on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac.
- Star Chef Award-winning cooking simulation and restaurant management freemium game. Players manage restaurants from humble beginnings to culinary mastery, cooking cuisines from around the world. Has achieved 20M+ downloads, 4.7 all-time ratings, and 7 industry awards.
- Dhoom:3 The Game Bollywood movie-based racing game developed for Yash Raj Films' Dhoom franchise. One of India's most downloaded games with 10 million+ downloads within 3 months of launch.
- Fantastic Chefs Puzzle cooking game recognized as Google Play Best of 2018.
- Sultan: The Game Action game based on the Bollywood movie Sultan. Named Google Play Best of 2016.
- WordsWorth Original word game that won multiple awards including Pocket Gamer's Silver Award and reached #2 in Word Game category in US App Store.
- Dream Star First freemium game for 99Games, designed for young girls market. Beta launched in Canada and Australia in December 2012, globally launched February 2013 with approximately 850,000 installs.
- SpellUp Word puzzle game originally codenamed 'Cipher', featured as Apple Editor's Choice and prominently featured in Google New Games category.
Quantifiable outcome
- Star Chef achieved 20 Million+ downloads
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use 99Games
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
99Games technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature2 records
99Games partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- ChillingominorChillingo was a prominent mobile game publisher known for games like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. 99Games partnered with them to publish The Jim and Frank Mysteries game.
- 6Wavesminor6Waves was a publisher partner for Dream Star game. 99Games worked with them for about 3 months before the publishing deal was dropped and 99Games self-published the game.
- Robosoftcore99Games partnered with Robosoft to build the Dhoom:3 The Game. Robosoft handled production aspects while 99Games managed studio coordination and partnership coordination. 99Games was located at Robosoft Campus for almost a decade.
- MicrosoftcoreMicrosoft came in as a primary sponsor for Dhoom:3 The Game, agreed to do on-ground promotions in over 100 colleges across India and assisted in launch marketing activities. The game was first launched exclusively on Windows Phone.
- Seven Figures Managementminor99Games worked with Seven Figures Management to create games based on the Million Dollar Arm Franchise, providing an opportunity to enter Hollywood gaming.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
99Games competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Nazara Technologies: India's largest publicly listed mobile gaming publisher with a diversified portfolio including casual, esports, and skill-based gaming. Comparable as a fellow Indian mobile gaming studio pursuing global markets, though Nazara operates at much larger scale across multiple game categories.
- King (Activision Blizzard): Developer of Candy Crush Saga and broader casual mobile gaming portfolio under Activision Blizzard. Comparable as a global leader in the casual mobile gaming category that competes for the same casual gamer cohort in the cooking/puzzle genres.
- Zynga: Major mobile and social casual game publisher behind Words With Friends, FarmVille, and CSR Racing. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the casual mobile gaming space competing for similar casual/social gamer audiences.
Direct peers
- Games2win: Mumbai-based mobile game publisher specializing in casual and simulation games with global reach. Highly comparable as another India-headquartered mobile gaming studio targeting similar casual/simulation genres with freemium monetization.
- Moonfrog Labs: Bangalore-based mobile game studio known for Ludo Club and Teen Patti Gold, both casual/social games with strong Indian and global audiences. Directly comparable as another venture-backed Indian mobile gaming studio focused on casual multiplayer titles.
- PlaySimple: Bangalore-based mobile game studio specializing in word and trivia puzzle games with global reach, acquired by Scopely. Comparable as a fellow Indian mobile gaming studio that built hit casual games (WordTrip, WordJam) with global chart success, similar to 99Games' WordsWorth and SpellUp.
- Octro: India-based mobile gaming studio famous for Indian Rummy and Teen Patti, with tens of millions of downloads. Comparable as another India-headquartered mobile gaming company building global franchises from Indian gaming IP.
- Peak Games: Turkish mobile gaming studio behind Toy Blast and Toon Blast, both casual puzzle games with 100M+ downloads. Comparable as another mid-size mobile gaming studio that built multiple casual hit franchises with freemium monetization and global distribution.
Others
- Robosoft Technologies: Indian mobile app and game development company that co-developed Dhoom:3 The Game with 99Games and housed 99Games for nearly a decade. Comparable as a peer in the Indian mobile development ecosystem, though focused on broader app development rather than game publishing.
Regional players
- JetSynthesys: Pune-based digital entertainment and gaming company with mobile gaming, esports, and celebrity IP collaborations. Comparable as another Indian gaming company working with Bollywood and sports IP for mobile game adaptations, similar to 99Games' Dhoom and Sultan partnerships.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
99Games social profiles
Digital presence99Games compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
99Games financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
99Games leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
99Games funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
99Games M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 99Games
What does 99Games do?
99Games develops and publishes freemium mobile games for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Facebook Gameroom platforms. Its core offering is the Star Chef franchise — cooking and restaurant management simulation games featuring social play, tournaments, customization, and global leaderboards — alongside other casual titles such as Fantastic Chefs, WordsWorth, Dream Star, SpellUp, and licensed Bollywood IP games like Dhoom:3 The Game and Sultan: The Game. Games are monetized through in-app purchases, auto-renewable subscriptions, and in-game advertising.
Is 99Games a public or private company?
99Games is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was 99Games founded?
99Games was founded in 2008. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is 99Games based?
99Games is headquartered in Udupi, India, in the Asia region.
How does 99Games make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Freemium / In-App Purchases are the primary driver. The others are advertising and auto-Renewable Subscriptions.
Who are 99Games's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Nazara Technologies, King (Activision Blizzard) and Zynga. Direct peers are Games2win, Moonfrog Labs, PlaySimple, Octro and Peak Games. Robosoft Technologies is listed as an others. JetSynthesys is listed as a regional player.
Does 99Games have an API?
No public API is recorded for 99Games.
What industry is 99Games in?
99Games's product category is Mobile Gaming. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAKAB, Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores, with a secondary code of MPAFABAB, Digital Game Distribution Platforms & Storefronts (PC/Mobile/Console). Its NAICS code is 7131 and its SIC code is 7990.