Telugu cinema superstar Mahesh Babu has signed on as a strategic investor in Mumbai-based Shortgun Games, backing a studio that is building original titles for PC and console rather than mobile, long the focus of India’s digital entertainment sector.
The studio, founded by Jeet Chandan and Vidhit Mehta, is developing original, franchise-scale IP aimed at PC as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. First up is “Project Takedown,” a big-budget, story-driven action-adventure game designed to take on international releases in North America, Europe, the U.K. and beyond. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
Chandan and Mehta decided early to skip mobile entirely. Their bet is that an Indian team can deliver the detailed worlds, layered gameplay and cinematic scale that core players expect from top-tier releases.
“Interactive entertainment is the ultimate frontier where narrative depth, cutting-edge technology, and global culture intersect,” Mahesh Babu, who leads S.S. Rajamouli’s upcoming “Varanasi,” said. “India has extraordinary creative potential, and the time is right to build original characters and cinematic worlds from here that resonate across the globe. What drew me to this company is Jeet Chandan and Vidhit Mehta’s clarity of ambition and their drive to create high-end PC and console experiences that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with international studio benchmarks.”
To handle the game’s fight sequences, Shortgun brought in action director Vicky Arora, whose credits include “Uri: The Surgical Strike,” “RRR” and “Tanaav.” Arora’s team has worked on motion-capture choreography, combat previsualization and physical stunt work. Those live stunt performances are fed directly into the pipeline the developers use to build the game’s digital characters. The studio says the result is hard-hitting combat of a kind rarely attempted outside the top tier of global publishers.
“We founded Shortgun Games with a singular focus – to prove that India can engineer world-class interactive entertainment for PC and modern consoles,” said Mehta, who serves as a director of the studio alongside Chandan. “Having Mahesh Babu sir come on board alongside Jeet and me as a strategic investor is an extraordinary milestone. His intuitive understanding of large-scale storytelling, emotional connection, and mass resonance elevates our entire vision as we bring ‘Project Takedown’ to life.”
Chandan said the studio’s goal had always been to create lasting franchises that work across media and travel beyond regional borders. “Mahesh Babu sir’s trust in our roadmap provides a massive vote of confidence for our entire team,” he said. “His strategic involvement empowers us to scale our technical capabilities, expand our creative talent, and execute at uncompromising quality standards.”
Beyond “Project Takedown,” Shortgun’s slate includes “Roll ’em Out,” a cooperative indie game.
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