Indian gaming platform WinZo sets up $5m fund to fuel local development

Indian social gaming platform WinZo announced the launch of its new US$5 million fund aimed at the country’s game development landscape.

The development comes after the startup secured US$18 million in a series B round led by global interactive entertainment fund Makers Fund, New York’s Courtside Venture, and Bain Capital co-chairman Steve Pagliuca, who’s also an investor in Fortnite developer Epic Games.

Photo credit: Pxfuel

With its Game Developer Fund II, WinZo said it’s now accepting applications from game developers in India looking to get their projects funded. It also plans to evaluate proposals for other gaming-related spaces such as streaming and esports, according to a statement.

“We also ensure a sustainable revenue stream by providing a ready-made market for the selected projects and introducing them to our 25 million+ registered user base,” said WinZo Games co-founder Paavan Nanda.

Launched in 2018, WinZo partners with third-party developers to host their multiplayer games on its Android app. The platform offers over 70 games that clock in around 1 billion micro-transactions per month, the company claimed. It’s currently available in 12 languages.

WinZo earlier announced its first gaming-centered fund of US$1.5 million in July 2019, which drew in more than 250 applications from both large and small developers in India. The company deployed the fund across nine teams that eventually developed games hosted on WinZo’s platform.

The company said it’s accepting applications for the second fund until December 31 this year.

The announcement comes a month after the Indian government banned several apps from China, including games such as Tencent’s PUBG Mobile and Lilith Games’ Rise of Kingdoms. The country’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said these apps were “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defense of India, the security of the state, and public order.”