CHENNAI: A five-member game development team from Madurai, backed by KRAFTON India, is preparing to launch mobile and personal computer game application titled Chromadi in June – signalling how Tamil Nadu’s gaming ambitions are beginning to extend beyond Chennai.
Part of an earlier cohort of KRAFTON’s India Gaming Incubator, the studio has secured nearly $100,000 in funding and is currently in the testing phase. The officials of the company were present at the Chennai Trade Centre on Friday alongside larger industry players at a game developers conference.
The free-to-play title Chromadi, designed for mobile and PC, blends “chrome” (colour) with “adi”, a Tamil word meaning “to hit,” pointing to gameplay built on colour theory and fast-paced combat. “It’s easy to pick up, but the layered mechanics reward players who invest time refining their skills,” said Jaiwanth Shanmugam, founder of Kleanup Games.
The team – Nandini Nachiyar, Niranjan Nair, Harish Needhi and Navya Johnson – each bring around five years of experience, with two members from Kerala, underscoring how gaming is drawing talent from across southern India. What began as a small prototype evolved into a full project after the team entered KRAFTON’s second incubator cohort.
Globally, Chromadi is expected to be priced in the $3-4 range, while parity pricing could place it at around Rs 70-80 in India, widening access among domestic players.
That shift in ambition was visible at the Chennai event, where students and aspiring developers crowded exhibition stalls, signalling growing interest in building games rather than merely consuming them. Nancy, a student from Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology said she was already developing her own game, reflecting a broader change among younger participants.
Anuj Sahani, who heads incubation at KRAFTON India said the third cohort of the KRAFTON India Gaming Incubator (KIGI) has selected four studios from more than 900 applicants. Since its launch in 2023, the programme has backed 10 teams, offering each up to a maximum cap of $150,000 in equity-free funding alongside a year-long mentorship cycle..
The announcement comes ahead of the April 24 launch of Frontier Paladin, developed by Singular Scheme – the first PC game title to emerge from the incubator.
KRAFTON, which has invested over $200 million in India, plans to deploy an additional $100 million-$150 million in the coming years, Sahani added.