Mobile video games publisher Games2win India Pvt. Ltd has launched a fund targeted at startups and entrepreneurs in the gaming sector. The fund – named Replay Gaming Fund – will have no capital restrictions and will start with an initial amount of Rs 10 crore, Games2win said in a statement on Wednesday.
Company co-founder and chief executive officer Alok Kejriwal said the company will invite startups seeking funding, mentor them through the development process and also market their product using its network.
Games2win will enter into a revenue-sharing agreement with the developer instead of taking equity in their company, Kejriwal said. “After that, the startup can carry on with its next title without our intervention,” he added.
Kejriwal cited the lack of investor interest in the Indian video game sector, developmental costs and the logistics of producing a video game as some of the reasons behind launching the fund. “Most games planned on paper don’t come out the same way,” he added.
Founded in 2006, Games2win says its mobile titles have been downloaded over 230 million times, and that its applications are used by more 30 million people every month.
The company reported consolidated net sales of Rs 10.35 crore and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 1.03 crore for the year through March 2018, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of Mosaic Digital. Its EBITDA for 2018-19 was Rs 11.62 crore, Kejriwal said in an email to VCCircle. He declined to disclose net sales for the year.
Deals in gaming segment
The online mobile video gaming sector has seen heightened deal activity in the last few months.
On Monday, New York-headquartered Rockstar Games Inc. announced that it had acquired development studio Dhruva Interactive Private Limited from Swedish developer Starbreeze AB. Starbreeze agreed to sell its 91.82% stake in Dhruva – a division of Dhruva Infotech (P) Ltd – for $7.9 million (about Rs 55.80 crore at current exchange rates).
Earlier this month, Mumbai-based mobile games developer Nazara Technologies Limited invested an undisclosed sum in vernacular social contests platform Bakbuck.
The investment is WestBridge Capital-backed Nazara’s second reported one this year. In March, the company was part of a Rs 40-crore Series A investment in fantasy sports startup HalaPlay Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
In March, fantasy gaming platform Dream11 entered the unicorn club after Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital said it would set to bet more than $100 million on the startup. The transaction also saw Dream11’s existing investors Renuka Ramnath-led private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management and venture capital firm Kalaari Capital earn robust returns through a partial exit.
