Mobile game developer Nazara Games, which is operated by Nazara Technologies Pvt. Ltd, has invested an undisclosed amount in Moong Labs Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a developer of 3D cricket simulation games.
Noida-based Moong Labs, which was founded in 2013, develops free-to-play (F2P) games for smartphones and tablets.
Moong Labs will use the funds for augmenting its game engine and develop games offering realistic cricket simulation experience, similar to what soccer fans get from mobile games such as FIFA Football 2004.
Last year, Moong Labs entered into a partnership with Nazara to publish mobile cricket games Virat Super Cricket and Epic Cricket.
“Immersive experience requires authentic and realistic simulation, and that is what we aim to bring to cricket fans,†Samit Babbar, head of mobile gaming at Moong Labs, said in a statement.
“We have built proprietary algorithms inside our game engine that will enable us to provide unique visual and auditory experience on mobile devices,†said Babbar.
“The global mobile cricket gaming market is underserved within the sports gaming segment, unlike soccer or basketball. We at Nazara are committed to investing or incubating studios which have shown a strong growth in the mobile cricket game space,†said Manish Agarwal, CEO of Nazara Games.
In April 2016, Nazara, which is present in 41 countries across the world, invested an undisclosed amount in London-based mobile games studio TrulySocial. Prior to that, it picked up a 26% stake in another London-based mobile gaming studio Mastermind Sports, which launched CricBet, a real-time prediction game.
In November last year, VCCircle had reported that Nazara is likely to go for a public market listing. If the firm decides to move ahead with the initial public offer, it may set the date for a public float as early as 2018, Nitish Mittersain, founder and managing director, had said.