After Sachin Tendulkar, it is Telugu cinema star Mahesh Babu’s turn to enter India’s fast-developing video game industry. The actor has backed Mumbai-based Shortgun Games as a strategic investor.
The game studio, founded by Jeet Chandan and Vidhit Mehta, is developing the secretive “Project Takedown”, which Shortgun Games say is a narrative-driven action-adventure title for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
It joins upcoming titles like Age of Bhaarat and Son of Thanjai, which are in development for a wider global market, including North America and Europe.
“India has extraordinary creative potential, and the time is right to build original characters and cinematic worlds from here that resonate across the globe,” Mahesh Babu said.
“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,” he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar also announced his strategic investment in Metasports Interactive, the company behind the viral mobile game Hitwicket.
Much like Tendulkar’s announcement, the investment amount by Mahesh Babu in Shortgun Games has not been disclosed. The little we know about “Project Takedown” is that it could be a 10–15-hour action-adventure game set in a near-future Mumbai. The release is expected by the end of 2028.
Apart from the actor, the upcoming came also has the support of action-director Vicky Arora, who is set to lead the team handling motion-capture choreography, combat pre-visualisation and physical stunt mechanics.
“Having Mahesh Babu sir come on board alongside Jeet and me as a strategic investor is an extraordinary milestone,” said Vidhit Mehta, co-founder and director. “His intuitive understanding of large-scale storytelling, emotional connection, and mass resonance elevates our entire vision as we bring ‘Project Takedown’ to life.”
Jeet Chandan, co-founder and director of Shortgun Games, said the goal is to build “durable, cross-media franchises that transcend regional boundaries”.
With Indian game studios looking to capitalise on the scale and spectacle of Indian cinema, especially in industries such as Telugu and Tamil, game development has suddenly received much-deserved attention in the country.
Now, it will be about execution, production, and distribution, all the while surviving a multi-year development cycle. Another indie game in Shortgun Games’ pipeline is Roll ’em Out, so it is not placing all its eggs in one basket.
