Liquidnitro Games secures $5.25M seed funding from Nexus Venture Partners
Founded by ex-Electronic Arts employees, Liquidnitro Games offers expertise in game live services, unlocking new global markets, facilitating new game launches, and co-production.
Hyderabad-based gaming studio Liquidnitro Games has secured $5.25 million in a seed funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners. The round also saw participation from angel investors, who are veterans in the gaming industry from the United States, Canada, the European Union, and India.
The funding is earmarked for building a studio, enhancing production pipelines with AI and technology, and scaling up live services, said the company, which was founded by former employees of gaming company Electronic Arts.
Live services in games refer to ongoing updates, features, events, and content provided by game developers after the initial release of the game. These services are designed to keep players engaged and interested in the game over an extended period.
"We truly believe that creating fun, highly engaging player experiences are what make games timeless. Live services is complex; it involves cross disciplinary teams translating data-driven insights into game experiences for players, which include new features and content which are shipped periodically," Sandeep Kowdley, CEO, Liquidnitro Games, told Yourstory.
The company said it is in talks with several AAA global gaming companies to enable them to tap into India's talent for specialised live services and game production and help them expand their games to new markets like India and beyond.
AAA games are typically high-budget, high-profile games produced by large, well-known publishers.
"At Nexus Venture Partners, we're proud to lead the investment in Liquidnitro Games, driven by ex-EA veterans. India's talent pool offers a strategic advantage, allowing us to pioneer geo-adapted production and live services, unlocking huge value for global publishers," said Sameer Brij Verma, Nexus Venture Partners.
Liquidnitro Games was founded in December last year by Sandeep Kowdley, Krishna Dhanekula, Arun Kunchala, and Suresh Manthena. The founders had earlier worked at Electronic Arts, an US based games publisher behind popular game franchises such as FIFA, Battlefield and Need for Speed.
The company offers expertise in live services, unlocking new global markets, facilitating game launches, and co-production.
While working with AAA title makers, the founders of Liquidnitro Games developed a network of talent with various technical and creative backgrounds. The company seeks to help game developers to tap into this talent pool to co-develop immersive experiences.
The team at Liquidnitro Games possesses extensive experience managing long-term live services for games such as Bejeweled, Tetris, Plants vs Zombies, Need for Speed, Real Racing, and The Sims.
(The article was updated with details based on an interview with the CEO.)
Edited by Swetha Kannan