Glass Jar Interactive (GJI), a DPIIT-recognised video game and entertainment studio, has raised Rs 2.3 crore in seed funding from UP Angel Network (UPAN) to push development of its original, IP-led game slate targeted at global PC and console audiences.
The funding comes at a time when investors are increasingly reading gaming studios not just as content creators but as long-term IP builders with formats that can travel. In its note on the investment, UPAN framed gaming as a growing pillar inside the wider home-entertainment stack shaped by OTT-led consumption habits.
The Significance
Vinayak Nath, Managing Director, UP Angel Network, argued that OTT has changed how audiences consume entertainment at home and that games are moving closer to the centre of that shift.
His thesis: a successful game IP doesn’t have to end at a download or disc; it can stretch into films, series, comics and merchandise, building a longer runway than a single product cycle.
That logic is increasingly attractive in a market where studios can spend years building worlds, mechanics and fan communities before a franchise fully pays back. It also places more weight on studios that are trying to create original stories, rather than service work alone, because original IP is what can travel.
The studio’s current focus: “Ghatika,” a narrative action-adventure game
Glass Jar Interactive says the seed round strengthens its ability to scale its vision and invest in long-term IP creation. The studio’s debut original IP, titled “Ghatika,” is described as a narrative-driven action-adventure game currently in production.
According to Raunaq Kavalu, Co-founder and Director, the game is set in a fantasy world and follows “the downfall of an empire,” with players leading survivors while uncovering secrets about their people . Kavalu also linked the studio’s approach to the need for time, experimentation and institutional backing when building globally competitive games from India.
The Lucknow link: incubation at IIIT Lucknow’s CREATE centre
Alongside the funding, the studio has been associated with CREATE Incubation Centre at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Lucknow). The announcement also notes that Glass Jar Interactive had secured government-backed grant support, though the financial terms were not disclosed.
CREATE, expanded as the Confederation for Research, Entrepreneurship & Technology Enablement, is described as IIIT Lucknow’s incubation and entrepreneurship centre and is recognised by the Government of Uttar Pradesh under its StartInUP framework. The centre provides startups access to structured mentorship, academic and technical resources, and linkages to state and national startup programmes.
CREATE supports incubated startups through incubation programmes, workshops, seminars and industry interactions aimed at accelerating early-stage innovation and entrepreneurship .
What Glass Jar says it is building?
Glass Jar Interactive positions itself as a studio focused on original IP-driven game development for PC and console platforms, with emphasis on interactive storytelling and gameplay-centric experiences. The studio’s stated aim is to create experiences that are globally competitive while remaining culturally grounded in India.
The UPAN-BSIS connection
UP Angel Network has partnered with BSIS (Bharat Startup and Innovation Society) to support investments and knowledge-building programmes for startups and investors .
For early-stage game studios, capital often matters less as a headline number and more as “time bought”, runway to iterate on mechanics, polish production quality, and build pipelines without rushing creative decisions. With “Ghatika” already in production, the immediate signal to track is how the studio deploys this seed round to strengthen production capacity while staying focused on original IP.
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