LightFury Games, a Bengaluru-based gaming studio focused on AAA titles, has raised $11 million in a pre-Series A funding round backed by investors including Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, MIXI and Times Internet. The round also saw participation from several leading Indian cricketers including MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma and Sai Sudharsan as strategic investors.
The funding will be used to develop the studio’s debut title ‘eCricket’, a mobile-first AAA cricket game expected to launch in 2026. The game is being built using Unreal Engine 5, with a focus on delivering a high-production, competitive experience that reflects real match dynamics, including tactical gameplay, physics-based mechanics, and broadcast-style presentation.
LightFury aims to position ‘eCricket’ as a globally competitive franchise in a category that, despite cricket’s estimated audience of over 2.5 billion, lacks a definitive premium gaming title. The game is being designed as a live-service platform with features such as real-time multiplayer modes, esports tournaments, dynamic AI-driven commentary, and progression-based gameplay shaped by player decisions.
As per the company, the global gaming market is expected to surpass US $400 billion in the coming years, while India’s gaming ecosystem is projected to reach US $9.89 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 14.55% between 2026 and 2031. In this context, LightFury Games says it has been investing over the past two years in development capabilities, infrastructure and analytics to support long term growth and player engagement.
The company also holds a global player roster licence covering more than 600 professional cricketers, including international names such as Chris Gayle, Ben Stokes, Pat Cummins and Andre Russell. This is expected to support authenticity and scale as the game targets a global audience.
The involvement of active international and Indian cricketers as investors signals a broader alignment between sport and interactive entertainment. For LightFury, it brings domain expertise from players who understand the nuances of the game, while also strengthening credibility as the studio looks to build a large-scale franchise from India.
The funding comes at a time when India’s gaming ecosystem is evolving beyond real money gaming, supported by regulatory clarity and increased focus on high-quality game development. With the market projected to grow significantly in the coming years, LightFury’s approach reflects a wider push to create globally relevant gaming IPs from India.
MS Dhoni said, “I’ve seen a lot of cricket games over the years, and there’s always been something missing. When Lightfury showed me what they were working on, I felt they were trying to close that gap. It’s a big undertaking, building something like this out of India for a global audience. I’m here to contribute what I can from my time in the game, and make sure the details hold up. The rest is up to them, and from what I’ve seen, they’ll do a good job.”
Jasprit Bumrah who is exclusively managed by RISE Worldwide, added, “Cricket is a game of fine margins. A change of pace, a shift in angle, one good decision under pressure can change everything. That depth is not easy to bring into a game. eCricket is taking that challenge seriously, and I’m glad to support a team trying to raise the standard.”
Hardik Pandya said, “Cricket is pressure, skill, and entertainment all at once. Fans want to feel that energy. What excites me about eCricket is that it is not trying to make cricket smaller for gaming. It is trying to make gaming rise to the scale of cricket. That is a bold idea, and I was very excited when the LightFury team approached me to be a part of the game.”
Karan Shroff, Co-Founder & CEO, LightFury Games, said, “India has long been one of the world’s biggest gaming markets. Yet it has not been able to build a truly world-class AAA sports title. With eCricket, we want to change that. We are building from India for the world, with a very high bar on quality, deep competitive gameplay, and true-to-sport authenticity. This partnership ensures that we deliver on that vision and bring eCricket to fans soon in 2026. For us, this is much bigger than a game launch. It is about proving that India can build premium gaming IPs for the world, and not just play it.”
Karthik Reddy, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Blume Ventures, siad, “We’ve backed LightFury from inception, in their mission to pioneer a new generation of Indian gaming studios, building IPs with global ambition. Building a AAA game is neither easy nor quick – it takes sustained creative excellence, deep technical expertise, and long-term discipline.”
He further added, “In LightFury, we’ve seen a team come together from different parts of the world, with a shared passion and incredible attention to detail, depth and creativity. Supercharged by natively built AI tools, we are excited for the world to experience eCricket very soon. We would like it to be the Dhurandhar of Indian gaming history.”
Arjun Vaidya, Managing Partner of V3 Ventures, said, “I’m a die-hard cricket fan, and today it is one of the biggest sports in the world. Yet it still does not have a definitive game in the way football, basketball or American football do. That is the gap. What gives us confidence is not just the size of the market, but the quality of gameplay, overall experience and player associations that LightFury has been building behind the scenes with real intent.”
He further added, “Cricket is a uniquely complex sport, and its place at the intersection of culture, community and technology for nearly a quarter of the world’s population makes the opportunity around eCricket even more exciting. We’re excited to back LightFury as they work to build an impactful, category-defining global title and give our favourite sport the game it deserves.”
