Games2win rolls out investment fund focused on gaming startups

Mumbai-based mobile games developer Games2win India Pvt. Ltd has announced the launch of its Replay Gaming Fund, aimed at gaming startups and entrepreneurs.

Games2win said that there is no capital restriction in place for this fund, adding that startups can raise funding for their next game without selling equity and gain insights from the Mumbai-based firm’s team.

“We will invite gaming startups to seek funding from us to launch their next title, get mentored and aggressively marketed by our network. All we will do is fund the game, mentor its development, publish it on our network and share the revenue with the developer. After that, the startup can carry on its title without our intervention,” said Alok Kejriwal, CEO and co-founder of Games2win, who had plans to launch a venture fund back in 2012.

“We realise that gaming entrepreneurs encounter four major problems. First, most games do not materialise as envisioned on paper and are plagued by cost overruns and delays. Second, a game does not meet the startup’s expectations in the market. Third, game design, analytics and other factors in game development take time to master. Lastly, due to a lack of funds, a startup often has an incomplete runway to attempt the development of its second or third game,” explained Kejriwal. Along with other players in the Indian gaming industry, Kejriwal had said that venture capitalists did not understand the gaming industry in India at TechCircle’s Digital Gaming Forum 2013.

Founded in 2006 by Kejriwal and Mahesh Khambadkone, Games2win claims to have over 230 million downloads under its belt and has a presence in San Francisco. It developed a game, Parking Frenzy, which became a hit in Apple’s iTunes Store in 2012. The Mumbai-based game developer is backed by Nexus Venture Partners, ICICI Venture and Silicon Valley Bank. In a 2013 Series C funding that saw the involvement of Clearstone Venture Partners, Games2win raised close to $2 million.

Deals in the sector

• Last week, Nazara Technologies invested in social contest platform Bakbuck.
• In April, fantasy gaming platform Dream11 entered the unicorn club as Hong Kong-based Steadview Capital joined its investor pool via a secondary transaction.
• In April, Japanese mobile gaming company Akatsuki Inc., along with others, invested in social commerce platform Wooplr.