India’s mobile gaming segment has spent years chasing global scale — and Metasports Interactive may have just found an unusual route to get there. The Bengaluru-based studio behind cricket game Hitwicket has secured $20 million in user acquisition (UA) funding from Metica, a London-based growth financing firm, in a deal that signals a maturing approach to how Indian gaming companies fund expansion without giving up equity.
UA funding is a non-dilutive financing model that has gained significant traction in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia, but remains relatively rare in the Indian gaming ecosystem. Rather than raising venture capital, companies access capital specifically to fund customer acquisition, repaid through the revenue that acquired users generate. For studios with strong unit economics and predictable retention curves, the model can be more efficient than equity rounds. Metasports is positioning itself as one of the first Indian gaming companies to tap this structure at a meaningful scale.
Hitwicket, launched in 2020, is a competitive multiplayer cricket title built around skill-based gameplay. Kashyap Reddy and Keerti Singh, who co-founded Metasports, have grown its player base to over 18 million users spanning 109 countries — a footprint that gave Metica enough performance data to underwrite the round. Strong monetisation metrics and high retention rates were central to making the case, according to the company.
The $20 million will be deployed on intensifying user acquisition across priority international markets. Alongside the capital, Metica will integrate its proprietary technology platform into Hitwicket’s operations to optimise in-game revenue performance — a move aimed at lifting lifetime value per user and improving overall unit economics. Metasports is targeting nearly 8x growth over the next 18 months, driven by AI-led targeting, expanded marketing investment, and continued product development.
“With Hitwicket, our vision is to reach over a billion cricket fans globally and build a truly world-class gaming business from India. This partnership with Metica gives us the capital and the tools to move faster in international markets without diluting ownership. We’re proud to be among the first Indian gaming companies to access this kind of structured UA funding, and we see it as a model that can unlock real scale for studios with strong fundamentals.” said Kashyap Reddy, Co-Founder and CEO, Metasports Interactive
Metica CEO Phil Mohr said his firm reserves UA funding for businesses that demonstrate repeatable, efficient growth — and that Hitwicket’s ability to scale across both India and international markets made Metasports stand out. Beyond capital, Mohr pointed to Metica’s technology as a means to increase user lifetime value, framing the deal as a dual investment in growth and in-product monetisation.
Metasports had previously raised $8 million from Prime Venture Partners and Horizon Ventures. Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle is also among the company’s backers — a marquee name that has likely helped with the game’s credibility among cricket audiences in India and the diaspora. The new round does not dilute that cap table further, which is precisely the point.
The deal arrives at a moment when Indian gaming startups are increasingly building for global audiences from day one rather than treating international markets as an afterthought. That Metasports could attract a London-based growth financier on the strength of player data and unit economics — not a speculative growth narrative — reflects how much the segment has matured. If the UA funding model takes hold more broadly, it could change how mid-stage Indian gaming companies think about capital and ownership.
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