● Chimera VC leads investment in Qila Games to fuel growth for the hybrid-casual
gaming start-up
● Founded in 2024, Qila Games is spearheaded by Dhananjai Hari and Neeraj Mishra
Bengaluru, March 20, 2025 – Qila Games, a hybrid-casual gaming startup, raised $1
million in pre-seed funding led by Chimera VC, with participation from Visceral Capital,
Atrium Angels, Ventatana Ventures, 91 ventures & Untitled Ventures and other angels.
The investment will fuel Qila Games’ mission to establish hybrid-casual gaming in India and
create new games that blend accessibility with deeper engagement.
Founded in 2024 by Dhananjai Hari and Neeraj Mishra, Qila Games aims to bridge the gap
between casual and midcore gaming by building innovative, socially engaging experiences
tailored for Indian players. The company plans to use the fresh capital to develop new
intellectual properties (IPs), expand its game portfolio, and strengthen its technology and
design capabilities.
“India and other emerging markets are at the cusp of a major shift in mobile gaming, and
hybrid-casual is set to be the next big category. We are proud to see our investors entrusting
us and our vision to disrupt the hybrid-casual gaming space and with this funding, we are
doubling down on building engaging, high-quality games that resonate with these audiences.
Our approach of being consumer-centric and listening to our audiences before we design
and develop our product gives us confidence to remain optimistic about the future” said
Dhananjai Hari, Co-Founder of Qila Games.
“The Indian Gaming industry is creating phenomenal IPs and being able to support these
founders and their vision has been a privilege . Qila Games has struck a perfect balance
between bite-sized entertainment and meta progression to create immersiveness that can
impact users. The consumer-centric focus and scalability of the product create a strong
approach. I am looking forward to experiencing some high-quality hybrid-casual games from
Qila Games in the near future”, said Krish Anurag GP, Chimera Venture Capital
“Dhananjai and Neeraj have spent years creating high-quality games for top studios with
great success. Building a studio is tough – it takes both skill and determination. We’re excited
to partner with Qila’s team, who have both in spades,” said Cecilia Oldne, Founding
Partner, Visceral Capital.
About Qila Games:
Qila Games is a Bengaluru-based gaming startup focused on making hybrid-casual games—a
genre that combines the simplicity of casual gaming with the depth of midcore games. Founded in
2024 by Dhananjai Hari and Neeraj Mishra, Qila Games is committed to creating socially
engaging games for audiences from emerging markets. The company differentiates itself by
prioritizing long-term player engagement and retention and premium experiences for players.
