Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and CEO of Hike, has announced that the gaming and messaging platform has shut down globally. In a reflective LinkedIn post titled ‘Closing a Chapter, Opening a New One’, Mittal has said that regulatory challenges and market shifts have made it unviable to continue.
The shutdown has come after India’s ban on online real-money gaming, which had been central to Hike’s pivot since 2021. Mittal has said that while Hike’s US business has shown early promise, scaling globally would have required “a full recap, a reset that is not the best use of capital or time.”
Reflecting on the decision, Mittal noted: “RMG was never the destination. It was a way to test unit economics and traction in India while working toward a bigger vision. In hindsight, starting in India locked us into the model and regulatory headwinds, turning a temporary path into a more permanent one. The Gaming Nation vision is real, but we may be too early… The world has changed in the last decade — and so have I. There are more important problems to solve and bigger opportunities to deploy brilliant talent and capital.”
Looking back, he has highlighted Hike Messenger’s rise to 40 million monthly active users and the growth of its gaming platform Rush, which scaled to 10 million users and $500 million in gross revenue within four years. “Our execution was super, but we could never quite make it stick. There are clear lessons to carry forward, especially on market selection and regulatory clarity,” he added.
Mittal has also underlined that his focus will now shift toward new frontiers: AI, breakthroughs in energy, and what he calls “mastery of the self.” “Just imagine a future where willpower is infinite, energy is abundant, and intelligence is at our fingertips. This is the future I will help build — and it’s where I’ll be contributing in the decades to come,” he said.
Hike has had a turbulent journey since its launch in 2012 as a messaging app built to rival WhatsApp. At its peak, the platform has drawn over 40 million monthly active users before shutting down in 2021 as consumer preferences shifted. The company has then transitioned into real-money gaming with Rush, a platform featuring 14 cash-prize games and Web3 features such as digital ownership and play-to-earn mechanics. However, India’s 2023 ban on online games involving real-money deposits has ultimately rendered Hike’s business model unviable, leading to its closure.
