Game publishing house 1312 Interactive bags funding from Nodwin Gaming co-founders, others

1312 Interactive aims to discover and publish independent (indie) and AA games (mid-market video games) for global audiences (Image generated by Meta AI)

1312 Interactive, a PC and console game publishing house, has secured funding from India's prominent gaming industry leaders such as Nodwin Gaming co-founders Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk, Gametronics CEO Rajat Ojha, and Moonfrog Labs co-founder Tanay Tayal.

The pre-seed funding round also saw participation from former Sony and Amazon executive Rick Herman, YesGnome's Sridhar Muppidi, Playsimple founders, and ExMachina Investment Partners co-founder Vatsal Chintalpati.

Started in June 2024 by Deepak Gurijala and Raviteja Mantena, 1312 Interactive aims to discover and publish independent (indie) and AA games (mid-market video games) for global audiences. It offers marketing, QA (quality assurance), localisation, and production support to game studios across India and other markets.

"Our goal is to bring Indian games to a global audience while ensuring our studios get the right support to build world-class titles. Beyond India, we are also exploring opportunities with game developers in South East Asia, MENA and South American markets" 1312 Interactive founders Gurijala and Mantena said in a joint statement.

1312 Interactive plans to release 6-8 titles on an annual basis. The startup has previously announced three titles set to launch in 2025 - Winds of Arcana (Brewed Games), Palm Sugar: A Village Story (Mono Tusk Studios), and Souls of Bombarika (Street Lamp Games).

"1312 Interactive is a bold and necessary step toward putting Indian game publishing on the global map. With their deep industry knowledge and commitment to quality, Deepak and Ravi are set to bring some truly outstanding titles to players worldwide" Rathee said in a statement.

Muppidi, who also serves as the chairman of video game industry body GDAI, said, "India has long been a powerhouse of game development talent, but publishing has remained an untapped opportunity—until now. 1312 Interactive arrives at the perfect moment, bridging the gap between Indian creativity and global markets. This is a crucial step in establishing India as a serious player in the premium PC and console space."

India is the fastest-growing games market in Asia, in terms of both revenue and gamers, according to Niko Partners, a market research and consulting firm that covers video games, e-sports and streaming in the region.

The combined revenue from mobile, PC and console gaming is projected to surpass $1 billion in revenue in 2025, up from $943 million in 2024, and reach $1.4 billion in 2028, growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 11.1 percent, the firm stated. These figures do not include revenues from real-money games or exports.