One of the Indian gaming industry’s key figures, Vishal Gondal, is set to make a return. Albeit not in game development. Rather, the founder of Indiagames, which was acquired by Disney in 2012 for $100 million, is set to launch an early stage fund for the gaming ecosystem.
While most funds are focused on just mobile studios and publishers, Gondal says he plans to take a more holistic approach to gaming in the country providing mentorship, publishing, finance, marketing, design and management support.
(Also see: Game Development in India: In a State of Constant Flux)
“We’re not just looking at mobile game studios alone. VR, AR, even game technology like engines and even e-sports, are what we will be looking at as well,”Gondal said to Gadgets 360. “The idea is to capture and capitalise on every touchpoint in the games business ecosystem in India and provide them with not just capital but business expertise given gaming is going to grow exponentially in the Indian market.”
He will be joined by other founders and executives in the fields of media, technology, gaming, and startups.
(Also see: The State of E-Sports in India: Untapped Potential but It Doesn’t Have to Be)
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. At the moment, Gondal’s track record appears solid what with a successful exit to Disney on the back of several profitable cricket games as well as his health startup Goqii grabbing a large chunk of the wearables space – being only second to Xiaomi in India, according to IDC.
For many fledgling gaming studios and companies in the space, a fund run by someone with previous experience in gaming, as opposed to other funds being run by those from a non-gaming background, this should come as a welcome change. More so when you consider that most game developers are overrun by the demands of distribution, marketing, and the sheer fight for visibility that comes with making a game in a crowded marketplace.
[“Source-Gadgets”]
