Studio Sirah, an Indian game developer, revealed that its strategy game inspired by the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Kurukshetra: Ascension, has crossed one million players. Launched in February 2022, Kurukshetra: Ascension is the country’s first ever card collection strategy game and the winner of the Google Play Best Indie Game award for 2023 (India).
The company has also revealed that players have played more than 1,46,94,510 matches across its Story, Duels, Challenges, and Draft modes. Furthermore, players have spent over 9,60,186 hours in the game’s Duels mode which pits them against other human opponents. The most popular hero choice has been Arjuna with over 38,89,696 matches played so far. Along with this, the most time spent playing Kurukshetra: Ascension by a single player since launch is nearly 2,000 hours.
“Kurukshetra is built to celebrate the Indian Epics and unfold it for modern audiences in a fresh, engaging way,” says co-founder Abhaas Shah. “The critical acclaim and heartfelt love from players worldwide have been overwhelming, reaffirming our vision to set a new benchmark for quality in Indian gaming and story-telling. In a market saturated with battle royales and hyper casual fare, we’re grateful for the niche Kurukshetra: Ascension has been able to occupy with our top players amassing thousands of hours individually since launch.”
Kurukshetra: Ascension is currently in its 11th season of content. Titled as Journey to the Himalayas, Studio Sirah has added a new playable hero Himavat, new weapon card Himasura, and a new guardian card Himastra along with a new Karma Pass — the game’s version of a battle pass that brings rewards, boosts, legendary cards, and more. You can check out the trailer for Journey to the Himalayas right here:
A new season of content is slated to release in February as well as a new game in development that builds on the company’s focus on Indian Epics.
About Kurukshetra: Ascension
Kurukshetra: Ascension is India’s first strategy video game inspired by Indian Epics. Set against the backdrop of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Kurukshetra: Ascension allows players to build powerful decks, strategise battles, and ascend through the ranks by mastering heroes and spells. It blends rich story-telling with deep strategic gameplay. Kurukshetra: Ascension combines iconic battles and impactful choices all while exploring the profound narratives of Indian culture.
The game is available now on Android, iOS, and PC via Steam.
About Studio Sirah
Founded by Abhaas Shah and Prateek Shah with a belief in the increasing sophistication of the Indian gamer and the whitespace of midcore India-first games, Studio Sirah’s games focus on thoughtful, cerebral experiences within an Indian context. Studio Sirah is inspired by India’s rich 5,000-year old culture, and combines it with strategic gameplay, immersive art and deep progression systems in ways only modern gaming technology can achieve.
Disclaimer: This press release was submitted directly to Story Mode. Barring minor edits for style, the copy has been published as is.
