Indus Battle Royale Game Adds Olympic Pistol Shooter Heena Sidhu as a Playable Character

Pune-based developer SuperGaming has partnered with Olympic pistol shooter Heena Sidhu to bring her likeness to its upcoming Indo-futuristic battle royale game Indus. The athlete will soon appear as an in-game character Heena, whose backstory is described to form an important part of Indus' lore, establishing her as a living legend among the folk. For the uninitiated, in April 2014, Sidhu became the first Indian pistol shooter to achieve the number-one world ranking, bestowed upon her by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).

“I was surprised to see an Indian game studio take so much care and attention to detail, especially in terms of shooting and gunplay and how all of it translates into Indus,” Sidhu said in a prepared statement. “It's something I noticed as an athlete and an avid gamer, which made collaborating with SuperGaming all the more easier.” The new character Heena has, in fact, been teased quite openly in most of Indus' promotional material, sporting a scouter on her left eye and some wing-like blades protruding from her back.

SuperGaming claims that her lore isn't dissimilar from Sidhu in real life, who had to break away from stereotypes to fully realise her passion for shooting. Her backstory isn't entirely clear, but a SuperGaming spokesperson suggested that she's best comparable to Robin Hood for her village — a hero among the needy.

Indus also revealed Mor-Ni, another new entry to its wide roster, who is revered as a folk hero amongst the Yaksha, an intelligent race of beings. As the name suggests, her appearance resembles that of a peacock — appropriate headgear paired with a purple-blue combo, in terms of clothing and makeup. Both characters will be available in Indus at launch.

As mentioned in a previous report, Indus is not a class-based shooter like Overwatch. So while all Mythwalkers appear differently designed, they are not equipped with any special skills, for the time being. “Players will definitely get to see our own interesting take on augmenting players with some special abilities on the plains of Virlok, sometime after the launch,” a SuperGaming spokesperson said.

The company held its third community playtest event late last month, which added new skins, weapons, quality-of-life improvements to the map and mini-map, customisable controls, and the ability to slide around the map. Indus has you step into the shoes of a Mythwalker, a hired gun working for the COVEN, an intergalactic syndicate that seeks a mysterious rare mineral called Cosmium.

In classic battle-royale fashion, gamers will be dropped onto the floating island of Virlok to scavenge for supplies, kill anyone who stands in their way, and come out as the last player standing. Alternatively, players can wait until the Cosmium spawns in a random spot on the map and snag it to end the match instantly.

Pre-registration for Indus is now live on the Google Play Store. PC and console versions are expected in the future.