WinZO announces ₹37.5 cr Game Developer Fund II

Social gaming platform WinZO on Friday announced a ₹37.5-crore fund to uplift the Indian game developer ecosystem.

The announcement follows $133.5-crore fund raised by the gaming start-up from global interactive entertainment fund Makers Fund based in Singapore, New York-based Courtside Venture and Bain Capital's Steve Pagliuca.

"We feel excited to announce the launch of Game Developer Fund II. Through this initiative, we are committed to uplift the Indian Gaming Ecosystem which is at the cusp of disruption.

"There is infinite talent and creativity and we would like to offer everything else that's required for a team to create a dent in this space and create gaming products for the entertainment-starved Bharat," WinZO Games co-founder Paavan Nanda said in a statement.

The company had earlier announced Fund I of around ₹11 crore in July 2019. In response, it received over 250 applications from large and small developers and ended up deploying the capital across 9 teams, the statement said.

Indian Gaming engagement has gone through the roof on the back of COVID-19 and ban of Chinese Apps such as PUBG and Tiktok.

The company will accept the application for the fund till the end of 2020.

"We are not just focusing on gaming projects but also equally keen to evaluate Game Ops, Streaming, Esports, etc related proposals. We also ensure a sustainable revenue stream by providing a ready-made market for the selected projects by introducing them to our over 2.5 crore registered user base," Nanda said.

WinZO currently offers its users over 70 skill-based games on its android app in 12 regional languages.