Ready, player one? India’s gaming startup scene has hit another checkpoint.
LVL Zero, the country’s first dedicated gaming incubator backed by Mixi Global Investments, Nazara Technologies and Chimera VC, wrapped up its inaugural 100-day cohort with a demo day in Bengaluru, where 10 homegrown studios showcased games, business plans and global ambitions before a room full of investors, publishers and industry heavyweights.
Held at The Lalit Ashok on 21 July, the event marked the final boss battle of an intensive incubation programme designed to turn promising developers into fundable game businesses. Each startup received a US$10,000 equity-free grant alongside mentorship, publisher access and strategic support to prepare for commercial launches, fundraising and market expansion.
Chosen from more than 240 applications, the first cohort reflected the growing diversity of Indian game development, spanning PC, console and mobile titles across genres including narrative adventures, sandbox experiences, psychological horror, strategy and cooperative puzzle games.
Throughout the day, founders pitched not just playable games but scalable businesses, presenting product roadmaps, go-to-market strategies and long-term growth plans before investors, publishers and ecosystem partners.
The audience featured representatives from Sony Interactive Entertainment, Krafton, Roblox, Unity, Google, Elevation Capital, Blume Ventures, India Quotient, Yale University Endowment Fund, PhonePe’s Indus Appstore, Venture Catalysts, Accel and AppsFlyer, underlining the industry’s growing confidence in India’s game development ecosystem.
The inaugural cohort included Kyrel Games, Trojan Productions, Wrought Studios, Impulse Mechanics, YK Game Studio, Arckon Arts, Xigma Games, Prescription Studios, Rudrac Games and Kalp Studio.
Mixi Global Investments managing director of investments Tomoharu Urabe expressed, “LVL Zero was created with a simple belief that India has extraordinary game development talent, and the ecosystem needs stronger platforms to help that talent reach global markets. Over the last 100 days, we’ve seen founders refine their products, sharpen their business thinking, and take meaningful steps toward building globally competitive studios. What makes this especially exciting is that LVL Zero is not just supporting individual startups, it is helping strengthen the broader game development ecosystem. Demo day is a reflection of what can happen when founders, mentors, investors, publishers, and ecosystem partners come together with a shared vision of building the future of gaming.”
Built to bridge the gap between making games and building sustainable studios, LVL Zero focused on execution-first mentorship, strategic guidance and ecosystem access, helping founders transform prototypes into investor-ready businesses.
Nazara Technologies strategy head Deepak MV shared, “When we launched LVL Zero, our objective was not simply to support game development, but to help founders improve their ability to execute. Over the course of the program, we’ve seen remarkable progress across the cohort, from stronger products and clearer go-to-market strategies to a deeper understanding of studio building and long-term growth. India has no shortage of talent or creativity; what has often been missing is structured support, mentorship, and access to the right networks. Seeing the transformation of these startups over the last 100 days reinforces our belief that initiatives like LVL Zero can play an important role in building a sustainable pipeline of globally competitive gaming companies from India.”
The showcase also revealed an interesting trend Indian studios are increasingly looking beyond mobile, with many teams building premium experiences for PC and console audiences, signalling ambitions to compete on the global stage from day one.
Since its launch, LVL Zero has centred its programme around five pillars: capital, knowledge, talent, distribution and global expansion, supported by an international mentor network and industry partnerships.
LVL Zero founding partner and Chimera VC managing partner Krish Anurag said, “One of the key goals behind LVL Zero was to help game developers think beyond individual titles and start building long-term, scalable companies. Over the last 100 days, founders have worked closely with mentors, industry experts, publishers, and investors to strengthen not only their games but also their business fundamentals. The diversity of projects showcased today across PC, console, mobile, narrative, strategy, and multiplayer experiences highlights the depth of talent emerging from India. More importantly, it demonstrates that Indian studios are increasingly building with global ambition from day one. We believe this is just the beginning of a much larger opportunity for India to establish itself as a meaningful contributor to the global game development ecosystem.”
Beyond showcasing games, demo day opened doors to investment, publishing and strategic partnerships for participating studios as they prepare for the next phase of growth.
The timing is apt. According to the Ficci-EY media & entertainment industry report 2026, Indian studios with globally successful titles generated between US$0.8 billion and US$1.2 billion during 2025-26, with 40 per cent to more than 90 per cent of revenue coming from overseas markets. The report expects India-built games to generate between US$2.8 billion and US$4.8 billion annually by 2028-29, fuelled by original IP creation and global development partnerships.
The first cohort has finished the tutorial. Now comes the real game, taking Indian-made titles from Bengaluru to the world leaderboard.
