New updates have been reported about LightFury Games.
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LightFury Games has secured US$11 million in a Pre-Series A round to accelerate development of its flagship AAA mobile title, eCricket, and expand live-operations infrastructure ahead of a planned 2026 launch. The round brings in Blume, V3 Ventures, MIXI, Times Internet, and a slate of Indian cricket stars including MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma, and Sai Sudharsan as strategic investors.
The 100-person studio will deploy the capital to complete core development on Unreal Engine 5 and scale systems for continuous content, analytics-driven engagement, and live-service operations at global volume. Management positions eCricket as a technically advanced, progression-driven cricket franchise targeting a global fan base of roughly 2.5 billion, aiming to fill the gap for a definitive cricket game comparable to leading football and basketball titles.
LightFury has already invested two years in technology, infrastructure, and AI tools to support high-fidelity physics, strategic batting and bowling systems, and dynamic AI commentary intended to differentiate the product in the sports gaming market. Earlier this year, the company secured licensing rights for a global roster of more than 600 professional cricketers, featuring leading names from multiple national teams, giving the title one of the broadest licensed line-ups in cricket gaming.
Co-founder and CEO Karan Shroff frames eCricket as a proof point that India can originate premium global gaming IP rather than serving only as a consumer market. Investor commentary from Blume and V3 Ventures emphasizes both the growth trajectory of the global gaming sector, projected to exceed US$400 billion, and India’s domestic gaming opportunity, forecast to approach US$9.89 billion by 2031, as key drivers behind the bet on LightFury’s AAA strategy.
The presence of top-tier cricketers as shareholders is expected to strengthen product authenticity, marketing reach, and fan engagement, as they provide input on gameplay realism and lend brand equity. Founded in 2024 by industry veterans Karan Shroff, Anurag Banerjee, and Tina Balachandran, who collectively have credits on more than 40 AAA titles, LightFury aims to leverage this funding to position itself as a leading India-based game-tech studio competing in global premium sports gaming.