LVL Zero, India’s gaming incubator, announced its mentor network for the inaugural cohort, bringing together Indian and global experts across game development, publishing, product, and growth to support India’s emerging game studios.
This mentor ecosystem will work closely with the 10 selected startups, embedding hands-on guidance into LVL Zero’s 100-day execution-driven program to help founders move from early-stage builds to market-ready products. LVL Zero is backed by backed by MIXI Global Investments, Nazara Technologies, and Chimera VC.
The mentor cohort spans a wide range of disciplines critical to building and scaling successful game studios globally.
Key areas of expertise include:
- Game design & player experience
- PC, console, and mobile publishing
- Live-ops, retention, and analytics
- User acquisition, marketing, and growth
- Go-to-market strategy and positioning
- Game production, art, and audio
- Startup operations, pitching, and investment readiness
Mentors include Ankit Garg (Zombie Art School), Yaraslau Kot (University of Warsaw), Terry Lee (Fusebox), Claire Roazain (RZAIN), Dong Dong (NCSoft), Sophie Vo (Rise & Play), and Taha Tinwala (Gameramp), among others.
The network also brings in specialists such as Vivek Ramachandaran (Gameramp), Shashank Vandarangi (Gameramp), Mariusz Gasiewski (Google), Balaji Vijayan (formerly FRVR), Jia Ling Hoo (ID@Xbox), and Dilpesh Parmar (Investor & Advisor, multiple startups).
Further strengthening the ecosystem are experts including Charu Desodt (INT./Night), Nilesh Mange (Mother Grace Productions), Pratik Jaiswal (Sri Durga Arts), Per-Arne (Amplifier Game Invest), Federico Chichi (ROLI), Matthew Quek (Iterco), and Esteban Grellier (NAGA Publishing).
The mentor network is further supported by Gorkem (LUDUS Ventures), Kirill Akimkin (Polden Publishing), Sushant Kulkarni (24 Track Legends), Ravi Mantena and Deepak Gurijala (1312 Interactive), Anurag Choudhary (Felicity), Sadiq Ahamed (Lysto), Robert Huynh (Reforged Labs), and Imtiaz Hussain (formerly Yesgnome).
From Advice to Execution: Embedded Mentorship Model
Unlike traditional incubators, LVL Zero integrates mentors directly into the product development lifecycle. Each startup is paired with dedicated mentors aligned to their platform and stage, with access to a broader network for specialized inputs. Mentors actively participate in:
- Bi-weekly sprint reviews
- Product and design feedback loops
- QA & Playtesting data analysis & feedback
- Go-to-market and publishing strategy
- This ensures that mentorship is not theoretical, but directly contributes to shipping better products within tight timelines.
- Global Expertise, Local Execution
The mentor network includes operators and experts with experience across global gaming ecosystems, including platforms such as Xbox and leading international publishers. - By bringing this expertise to Indian founders, LVL Zero aims to bridge long-standing gaps in:
- Access to global publishing pathways
- Understanding of live-service and retention systems
- Go-to-market and distribution strategy
- Investor and capital readiness
Aligned to a 100-Day Build–Test–Ship Framework
Mentors play a critical role across all phases of the program:
- Ignition (Days 1–15): Defining milestones, product vision, and execution roadmap
- Core Build (Days 16–70): Supporting rapid iteration, playtesting, and validation
- Market Readiness (Days 71–100): Preparing for launch, publishing, and investor engagement
By the end of the program, startups are expected to deliver playable builds, validated product loops, and investor/publisher-ready pitches, shaped through continuous mentor intervention.
Sagar Nair, head of incubation, LVL Zero said in a statement, “Access to capital is important, but what early-stage game studios in India have lacked most is access to real, hands-on expertise. With this mentor network, we are bringing in operators who have built, shipped, and scaled games globally, and embedding them directly into the founders’ journey. This isn’t advisory in isolation, it’s execution support at every step. Over the next 100 days, our focus is simply to help these teams build better products, faster, and prepare them to compete on a global stage.”
With its mentor-led model, LVL Zero is positioning itself as more than just an incubator, acting as an execution layer for India’s gaming ecosystem.
As Indian studios increasingly aim to build globally competitive IP across PC, console, and mobile platforms, access to experienced operators across design, publishing, and growth is expected to be a key differentiator.
The mentor network reinforces LVL Zero’s core belief that the next generation of Indian game studios will not just be defined by ideas, but by their ability to execute, iterate, and scale for global audiences.