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| "Earn Trust, Build Vision - Shubham Rajanwar on Creating Kamla and Putting India on the Gaming Map" |
1. What inspired you to start your gaming company 'Mad-Mantra Games’?
Ans. I’ve always wanted to build a company around entertainment. I grew up playing games a lot because I had to move around a lot as a kid. Games were an easy way to cure boredom, especially since it took time to make new friends in a new place.
As I got older, I started working as a game developer for different companies. After gaining a few years of experience, I felt like it was the right time to start my own game studio- something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. So I started MadMantra in 2023
2. What challenges did you face while starting your venture?
Ans. Bootstrapping a game is one of the toughest tasks you can take on as a beginner entrepreneur, mainly because of the huge financial risks involved.
Before starting Madmantra, I had saved up a good amount of money from my salaries, and it was crucial for me to find a formula with the highest potential to return that investment and help us make a name for ourselves in the market. This required a lot of research, especially since making an Indian game is something very few have attempted, particularly in the horror genre.
Eventually, I found my idea, built a team I believed in, and started working on creating KAMLA.
So finding this formula in a tight bootstrap budget was a big challenge to start building towards the vision.
3. What inspired you to create Kamla?
Ans. I’ve always wondered why there’s such a lack of Indian-themed games in the PC/Console market. When I started Madmantra, I decided that my first two games would be based on Indian themes.
I’ve always been a huge fan of old horror movies like Band Darwaza, Purani Haveli, and Jaani Dushman. Then after some brainstorming with the team, it hit me—why not create a game based on the classic Indian Chudail?
And just like that, I found my hook and an initial concept for my debut project.
4. How has the reception of Kamla been so far among Indian and international gamers?
Ans. The aftermath of Kamla's release was far better than we ever expected or initially calculated. It ended up becoming the most popular Indian-themed game in the Indian YouTube space, with creators like Carryminati, Kaash, Xyaa, and BeastBoyShubh playing and reacting to the little adventure we had built- over 500M estimated views across YouTube.
Since it was made on a small budget, it also turned out to be a financially profitable project. We saw a good number of international gamers play the game, which wasn’t something we expected, since we really made it with the Indian audience in mind. But seeing the interest from outside was truly amazing.
To me the most important parameter for success was earning trust in the gaming community of India and I would like to believe we achieved that with kamla.
5. What is the long term vision for your gaming company?
Ans. Madmantra aims to keep moving toward bigger and better projects in terms of scale and quality. We’ve earned the trust of Indian players, and now we want to build something not just for India, but for the global market as well.
The goal is to create enough high-quality content over the years for Madmantra to be recognized as the best game studio from India. We want to deliver multiple large-scale projects for the world and, step by step, truly put India on the PC/console gaming map.
6. What excites you the most about the future of gaming?
Ans. Mainstream gaming has been around for about 30 years now, and throughout that time, the evolution of the industry has accelerated, with an increasing demand for truly unique games especially those built around different cultures. Watching how it continues to evolve and how we can be a part of that evolution is the most exciting part for me. I’m particularly excited to see what games come out of India in the coming decade and how the industry evolves both globally and within India.
Hopefully We see some amazing games come out of India in Pc/Console games that push the industry forward and open the gates for more studios to build amazing games. Future is bright!
Since it was made on a small budget, it also turned out to be a financially profitable project. We saw a good number of international gamers play the game, which wasn’t something we expected, since we really made it with the Indian audience in mind. But seeing the interest from outside was truly amazing.
To me the most important parameter for success was earning trust in the gaming community of India and I would like to believe we achieved that with kamla.
5. What is the long term vision for your gaming company?
Ans. Madmantra aims to keep moving toward bigger and better projects in terms of scale and quality. We’ve earned the trust of Indian players, and now we want to build something not just for India, but for the global market as well.
The goal is to create enough high-quality content over the years for Madmantra to be recognized as the best game studio from India. We want to deliver multiple large-scale projects for the world and, step by step, truly put India on the PC/console gaming map.
6. What excites you the most about the future of gaming?
Ans. Mainstream gaming has been around for about 30 years now, and throughout that time, the evolution of the industry has accelerated, with an increasing demand for truly unique games especially those built around different cultures. Watching how it continues to evolve and how we can be a part of that evolution is the most exciting part for me. I’m particularly excited to see what games come out of India in the coming decade and how the industry evolves both globally and within India.
Hopefully We see some amazing games come out of India in Pc/Console games that push the industry forward and open the gates for more studios to build amazing games. Future is bright!
Bio :
Shubham Rajanwar is the Game Director of MadMantra Games. He is 27 years old. Originally, he is from Pune but currently lives in Germany and is building MadMantra from there. Initially, he worked in India as a game developer for different organizations in order to pursue his dream career of being a game programmer, after few years of experience he moved to germany and decided to start MadMantra once he settled there, to pursue his life goal of building a game studio that creates games that people love.
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Shubham Rajanwar is the Game Director of MadMantra Games. He is 27 years old. Originally, he is from Pune but currently lives in Germany and is building MadMantra from there. Initially, he worked in India as a game developer for different organizations in order to pursue his dream career of being a game programmer, after few years of experience he moved to germany and decided to start MadMantra once he settled there, to pursue his life goal of building a game studio that creates games that people love.
Interviewed by : Diya Sehrawat
Edited by : Shivam Sharma
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