LightFury Games, a gaming startup founded by Karan Shroff, former chief marketing officer of Unacademy, has secured $8.5 million in a seed funding round led by Blume Ventures, Mixi, and Gemba Capital. Notable investors like Kunal Shah, founder of Cred, and Gaurav Munjal, CEO of Unacademy, also joined the round.
With the fresh capital, LightFury Games aims to create AAA games in India. Initially, the focus will be on mobile gaming, with plans to expand to other platforms like consoles later on.
AAA games are known for their large budgets and high-quality graphics, typically developed and published by major gaming companies or studios. These games feature advanced gameplay mechanics, extensive content, and significant marketing campaigns. They are usually available on various platforms such as PCs, consoles like PlayStation and Xbox, and sometimes even mobile devices.
Popular examples of AAA games include well-known franchises like Grand Theft Auto, The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and Call of Duty.
LightFury, founded by Shroff, Anurag Banerjee, who serves as the chief product and technology officer, and Tina Balachandran, formerly a senior vice president at Unacademy, aims to establish game studios in India and the UK while recruiting top talent.
“Creating successful AAA titles in the Indian market and establish a Tencent-like presence originating from India is what we are excited to bring to the fore,” Shroff said in a statement. “It would necessitate building the finest expertise and leveraging state-of-the-art technological innovations to ensure top-tier gameplay quality.”
Shroff officially launched LightFury Games on April 10 through LinkedIn.
Although India has witnessed the emergence of gaming unicorns like Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL), and Games 24×7, it has yet to develop a homegrown AAA game. However, steps are being taken in this direction, such as the beta launch of Underworld Gang Wars by MPL’s mobile gaming development arm Mayhem Studios and the beta release of Indus Battle Royale by Pune-based gaming studio SuperGaming.
“The ability to piece together the talent and bring in believers from the gaming and consumer universe make it one of the most exciting investments we’ve made in this space,” said Karthik Reddy, cofounder and managing partner of Blume Ventures.
