News18 launches ‘Book Cricket’ game around T20 World Cup

New Delhi: News18.com has launched a digital version of “Book Cricket”, timing the release around the ongoing T20 World Cup and positioning it as a new engagement format on its platform.

The game is currently available in English, Hindi and Telugu. News18 said it plans to extend it to other languages in which it operates.

The title is part of its in-house gaming portfolio, which now has more than 20 games across web and app. The company said the games are conceptualised and developed internally to drive repeat usage and time spent.

News18 also pointed to earlier event-led games launched during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, including ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’. 

It cited festive-led titles such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi as part of the same approach.

Some of the titles have also been distributed beyond News18.com, with select games available on CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com.

The Book Cricket game link:

https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/

"Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy," said Mitul Sangani, CEO, News18 Digital. "At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits."