Qila Games, a hybrid-casual gaming startup, announced Thursday that it had raised $1 million in pre-seed funding led by Chimera VC, with participation from Visceral Capital, Atrium Angels, Ventatana Ventures, 91 ventures & Untitled Ventures and other angels.
The investment will fuel Qila Games’ mission to establish hybrid-casual gaming in India and create new games that blend accessibility with deeper engagement.
Founded in 2024 by Dhananjai Hari and Neeraj Mishra, Qila Games aims to bridge the gap between casual and midcore gaming by building innovative, socially engaging experiences tailored for Indian players.
The company plans to use the fresh capital to develop new intellectual properties (IPs), expand its game portfolio, and strengthen its technology and design capabilities.
Hari said: “India and other emerging markets are at the cusp of a major shift in mobile gaming, and hybrid-casual is set to be the next big category. We are proud to see our investors entrusting us and our vision to disrupt the hybrid-casual gaming space and with this funding, we are doubling down on building engaging, high-quality games that resonate with these audiences.
“Our approach of being consumer-centric and listening to our audiences before we design and develop our product gives us confidence to remain optimistic about the future.”
Krish Anurag GP, Chimera Venture Capital, noted: “The Indian gaming industry is creating phenomenal IPs and being able to support these founders and their vision has been a privilege. Qila Games has struck a perfect balance between bite-sized entertainment and meta progression to create immersiveness that can impact users. The consumer-centric focus and scalability of the product create a strong approach. I am looking forward to experiencing some high-quality hybrid-casual games from Qila Games in the near future.”
Cecilia Oldne, founding partner, Visceral Capital, added: “Dhananjai and Neeraj have spent years creating high-quality games for top studios with great success. Building a studio is tough – it takes both skill and determination. We’re excited to partner with Qila’s team, who have both in spades,” said.
