Reliance Games to launch incubator for gaming startups; may invest in them

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Games is launching an incubator for gaming startups, and is also planning to invest in them, according to a report by The Economic Times, citing Manish Agarwal, head of Reliance Games and CEO of Reliance Entertainment. However, more details on the same are not disclosed.

According to Agarwal, the company wants to make the programme a bi-annual event, and the plans will be finalised by February next year. Reliance Games has already received some concepts and prototypes and is currently evaluating a couple of them, he noted.

The incubator will mentor startups on engineering, product management & designing, and character illustration. The IP will be shared between Reliance Games and the startup.

There are very few incubators in the gaming space in India. Last year, Mumbai-based mobile gaming firm Nazara Technologies set up a Rs 10 crore seed fund, which seeks to invest between Rs 25 and Rs 50 lakh each in startups in exchange for a stake. In an interaction with Techcircle.in recently, Nazara's founder and CEO Nitish Mittersain said that the fund is close to investing in two mobile gaming startups.

Last December, Bangalore-based gaming firm Dhruva Interactive launched an incubator called Gametantra for mobile game developers. It will provide developers with office space and mentorship in return for 3-7 per cent stake.