Kavin Mittal shuts down Hike owing to India’s gaming ban

BENGALURU: Kavin Mittal on Saturday announced the complete shutdown of Hike, bringing to a close a 13-year journey that saw the company transform from a homegrown messaging app to a player in casual gaming.The decision, as per Mittal’s Substack blog post, comes after a careful review with investors and follows the regulatory ban on real-money gaming in India, a move that fundamentally undermined Hike’s business model and prospects for future pivots.“Our US business, launched just nine months ago, is off to a strong start. But after the India ban, scaling globally would require a full recap, a reset that is not the best use of capital or time,” Mittal said.In an earlier blog post dated August 21, 2025, Kavin Mittal explained Hike’s decision to exit India and focus fully on the US and global markets. He cited India’s clear government stance against real-money gaming, regulatory ambiguity, steep GST hikes, and a rushed bill banning RMG without industry consultation as major challenges. Mittal had said that transparent and consistent regulation is essential for entrepreneurship to flourish. Contrasting India with the US, he had highlighted encouraging moves toward regulatory clarity, including the passage of the Genius Act for stablecoins and the upcoming Clarity Act for tokens. Mittal had underscored that the US market offers stronger early product metrics, better monetisation opportunities beyond RMG, and a more stable regulatory environment.In the latest blog post, reflecting on Hike’s evolution, Mittal described the foray into real-money gaming as a temporary strategy that became a long-term commitment amid regulatory challenges. He now considers the market to be premature for his broader “Gaming Nation” vision, emphasising that regulatory uncertainty, both in gaming and emerging areas like crypto, creates insurmountable hurdles for innovation led from India.Hike Messenger once reached 40 million monthly users and earned a place among India’s top consumer brands. Its later pivot, Rush, grew quickly to 10 million users and over $500 million in gross revenue, the blog post added.Mittal distilled key lessons — in winner-take-all markets, global scale is essential, and building for transient constraints or without clear regulation is a risk best avoided. Mittal framed the shutdown as a difficult but necessary step. He signaled his intent to dedicate the coming years to three transformative frontiers: artificial intelligence, breakthroughs in energy and mastery of the self.