Nazara, MIXI & Chimera VC Launch LVL Zero To Power India's Gaming Startups

MIXI Global Investments, Nazara Technologies, and Chimera VC have launched a gaming incubator, LVL Zero. Launched during the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) 2025 in Chennai, the incubator aims to strengthen India’s game development ecosystem by helping startups with investor and publisher readiness, as well as access to tools and mentorship.

Open to Indian gaming startups, LVL Zero will offer an equity-free grant pool of $100,000. Each cohort will include 10 startups, with $10,000 in equity-free grants per startup. The programme will focus on providing problem-aligned mentorship, access to capital and global publishing networks, targeting more than 100 startups over the next five years.

India’s gaming industry has witnessed dramatic growth in recent years. The Indian gaming market was valued at about $3.8 Bn in FY25, with projections to reach $9.2 Bn by FY29, clocking a robust CAGR of 20%.

However, despite the rise in the number of gaming startups, only a few have reached global publishing or live operations at scale. LVL Zero aims to bridge this gap by leveraging the rising interest from international investors and publishers in the rapidly expanding Indian gaming industry.

Bringing together powerful forces from across the industry, LVL Zero combines the strengths of its partners. Nazara Technologies, as India’s only publicly listed gaming company, brings deep expertise across mobile gaming, esports and publishing. Its domestic reach is complemented by MIXI Global Investments (the corporate venture capital arm of Japan-based MIXI, Inc.) which offers global market access and strategic guidance to Indian studios. The third partner, Chimera VC, focuses specifically on early stage Indian gaming and interactive entertainment startups, providing capital and network support to help them grow.

Furthermore, Google (knowledge partner of the programme) will provide mentorship and support to participating teams. Leveraging its app distribution platform, Google Play, the company will offer technical guidance and share insights on developer growth and user engagement to help startups scale their reach and impact.

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