Chennai, November 7, 2025: MIXI Global Investments, Nazara Technologies, and Chimera VC officially announced LVL Zero, a first-of-its-kind gaming incubator in India, at the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) 2025. The initiative, which is supported by Google as the Knowledge Partner, aims to accelerate the growth of India’s game development ecosystem by empowering startups with mentorship, access to tools, and investor and publisher readiness.
LVL Zero offers an equity-free grant pool of USD 100,000 and is open to all startups in the ecosystem. With a $10,000 equity-free grant for 10 startups in each cohort. The programme focuses on enabling startups to fast-track product execution, providing them problem-aligned mentorship, access to capital, and global publishing networks. Over the next five years, LVL Zero aims to support more than 100 high-performing gaming and interactive startups, helping them build sustainable ventures and compete on the global stage.
IGDC 2025, held from November 5 to 7 at the Chennai Trade Centre, is the longest-running and largest game developer conference in India, uniting developers, publishers, investors, and ecosystem partners from across the world. The 2025 edition showcased India’s growing impact on global game development through panels, workshops, and exhibitions that celebrated creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship in gaming.
As per the India Gaming Report 2025 published by Dentsu India, India is home to 16.63 crore gamers today, with the number expected to reach 24.68 crore by 2027. As the nation’s gaming audience continues to expand, many new startups across diverse portfolios have emerged, yet few have scaled to global publishing, live operations, or sustainable business models. With global investors and publishers increasingly viewing India as a hub for creative talent and innovation, LVL Zero brings together some of the biggest names in the industry to bridge this gap. Offering equity-free grants and open to all game developers in the ecosystem, the incubator will provide mentorship, access to tools, and support to help Indian startups build sustainable ventures and compete on a global stage.
Alongside the official announcement, a panel discussion bringing together key industry leaders behind LVL Zero was also held at IGDC 2025. The discussion explored what it takes for Indian founders to move from concept to execution, the key challenges in scaling early-stage studios, and the type of ecosystem support needed to build globally competitive gaming companies. Speakers also shared insights on mentorship, platform access, investor expectations, and the evolving opportunities for Indian developers in global markets.
With the announcement of LVL Zero, MIXI Global Investments, Nazara Technologies, and Chimera VC have created a collaborative platform to nurture India’s next generation of gaming innovators. As a Knowledge Partner, Google will facilitate support and mentorship for participating teams. Through Google’s app distribution channel, Google Play, teams will gain access to technical mentorship, and the platform’s deep understanding of developer growth and user engagement will help startups expand their reach and success
The incubator is set to bridge the gap between local creativity and global opportunity, reinforcing India’s position as one of the most promising game development hubs in the world.
