Raj "Stan" Shah
7+ years across gaming, scaling mobile F2P titles to 10M+ downloads, leading product, growth & live-ops, and designing game economies, battle passes & retention systems that keep players coming back. Fluent in Web3 too, from tokenomics to Play-to-Earn for legacy IPs. From competitive CS:GO player to studio founder.
Experience
Co-Founder & CTO
Apr 2025 - Jul 2026- Leading technical architecture, game design & product vision for an independent studio focused on competitive gaming and community-driven ecosystems
- Directed Helium Wars from initial mandate into a fully realized third-person hero shooter on scalable Web3 infrastructure
- Engineered the Riven Co-Creation Portal, a UGC pipeline letting the community build, share & integrate assets into the game ecosystem
- Secured an MoU with the Maharashtra Esports Association and onboarded GamingCon as official partner for the inaugural launch tournament
Product Manager / Head of Ops
Aug 2024 - Jan 2025- Secured go-to-market partnerships with Mixi and Nazara for strong market entry
- Drove 200,000+ downloads at $0.25 CAC via DSP integrations, B2B promotions & influencer campaigns
- Launched a Battle Pass system & in-game economy that boosted playtime by 40% and sustained 35,000 MAU
- Orchestrated launch at DreamHack × Comic Con 2024, engaging 1,500+ players in 3 days
Freelance & Side Gigs
Feb 2024 - Jul 2024- Produced & launched BJP Minigames, two hyper-casual titles for BJP's election campaign, in collaboration with Rajasthan Govt & Madeindia
- Built & scaled Cyzens.io from scratch, sold 2,222 NFTs in under 22 hours
- Ran influencer campaigns across TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, Booyah, Kwalee & Instagram
Product Manager / Gaming Lead
Oct 2023 - Jan 2024- Led the integration of the 17-year-old IP Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah into Gaming & Web3
- Designed IP-based games for the Play-to-Earn product "Clubhouse"
- Optimized standalone games for engagement, retention & ad revenue; managed external studio outsourcing
Game Designer (Zero to 1)
Sep 2022 - Sep 2023- Owned tokenomics, game economy & level progression; advised by Matt Sorg (Solana Foundation, ex-Riot) & Matias Myllyrinne (CEO Redhill Games, ex-CEO Remedy)
- Boosted Week-4 retention from 10% to ~25% with Daily Rewards & Spin-the-Wheel features
- Raised average playtime from 15 to 20-25 minutes across ~15,000 players
- Designed India-inspired maps, weaponry, vehicles & immersive lore
Associate Growth Manager (Zero to 1)
Sep 2021 - Jul 2022- Achieved 2M downloads in 4 months, peaking at 250K DAU at ~₹10 CAC (₹2 at best), now 5M+ on Google Play
- Improved Week-4 retention from 17% to ~30% through user-driven product iteration
- Built a network of 500+ creators across India, Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia & Bangladesh
- Led Glipstore growth zero-to-one, from creator onboarding to technical integration (Python, AWS)
Featured Projects
Helium Wars
UE5 · SEI Network · $HELMAAA third-person hero shooter on Unreal Engine 5 with a full Web3 economy. Testnet launch on SEI drew thousands of players on day one, 500+ PvP matches in the opening event.
Riven Co-Creation Portal
UGC PlatformA UGC pipeline empowering the community to build, share and seamlessly integrate assets into the broader Helium Wars game ecosystem.
Rage Effect
Mobile · PC · Cross-playIndia-inspired AAA shooter. Designed its tokenomics & economy, then led its GTM: 200K+ downloads at $0.25 CAC, Battle Pass driving +40% playtime, 35K MAU.
TMKOC Play · Clubhouse
Legacy IP × Web3Brought a 17-year-old legacy TV IP into gaming & Web3 with Play-to-Earn systems, blockchain-enhanced games and a full product roadmap.
BJP Minigames
Election Campaign · Hyper-casualProduced & shipped two hyper-casual titles for BJP's election campaign in collaboration with Rajasthan Govt & Madeindia. Managed outsourced dev & art end-to-end and delivered on deadline to power the campaign's digital engagement.
Cyzens.io
NFT IP · Sold out in 22hrsBuilt and scaled an NFT IP from scratch. Sold out 2,222 NFTs in under 22 hours through community building and influencer marketing.
Glip App & Glipstore
10M+ installs on Google PlayScaled a creator-streaming app zero-to-one: 2M downloads in 4 months, 250K peak DAU, 500+ global creator network across 5 countries.
EliteHubs
Esports Ops · Gaming E-comEsports operations and gaming e-commerce. Worked with influencers across the scene and organized Valorant and CS:GO events in partnership with Corsair.
TalkEsports
Esports Writer · CS:GO & Dota 2Wrote for Asia's largest esports blog, covering online events and the region's best CS:GO and Dota 2 players. Storytelling roots that still shape how I build products.
Esports Career
Professional CS:GO Player
Part of a Top 10 Indian CS:GO roster, competing in ESL India.
Valorant · Rebellious Gaming
Integral part of one of India's Top 5 Valorant teams.
TalkEsports · Esports Writer
Wrote about CS:GO and Dota 2 for Asia's largest esports blog, covering online events and my favourite players across the region.
COBX Masters
Operations at Asia's largest esports event. Managed Dota 2 legend Dendi's Team Tiger at the offline Indian tournament.
EliteHubs
Esports operations and gaming e-commerce. Organized Valorant and CS:GO events with Corsair.
Skills & Expertise
Product & Game Design
Growth & Marketing
Web3 & Tech
Leadership
Esports Writing
The Times of Esports 2021
Gaming & esports coverage: industry analysis and event reporting.
TalkEsports 2019-20
CS:GO & Dota 2 esports for Asia's largest esports blog.
Jobless Freaks 2018-19
Dota 2 Majors coverage and tournament analysis.
Diploma and Engineering degree, Mumbai University. The certificate is still waiting at the counter.
"Aesa bharosa khudpe, colg jaake degree li nahi" Seedhe Maut · RED