Mahesh Babu’s New Move: ‘Project Takedown’ Set to Put Indian Gaming on the Global Map

Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu is stepping off the screen and into the controller, joining Mumbai-based game development studio Shortgun Games as a strategic investor. The move marks a notable expansion of the actor’s business interests beyond film production and his AMB Cinemas multiplex chain, and signals growing star-power interest in India’s still-nascent PC and console gaming sector.

Shortgun Games, co-founded by Jeet Chandan and Vidhit Mehta, builds original intellectual property exclusively for PC and modern consoles - a narrower, higher-end lane than the mobile-first gaming that dominates India’s market. The studio’s flagship title, Project Takedown, is a narrative-driven, big-budget action-adventure game being built for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, with its sights set squarely on North America, Europe and the UK alongside the domestic audience. The financial size of the investment has not been disclosed.

Speaking about why he chose to back the studio, Mahesh Babu pointed to the founders’ clarity of ambition and their drive to build high-end PC and console experiences that could stand alongside international studio benchmarks. He has also framed the opportunity in broader terms, describing interactive entertainment as a space where storytelling, technology and global culture meet - and voicing confidence that India has the creative talent to produce original characters and worlds capable of competing on the world stage.

For Shortgun Games, the association with a star of Mahesh Babu’s stature brings more than capital - it brings visibility. The backing gives Project Takedown a level of attention that Indian game studios rarely receive this early, well before the title even has a trailer. Co-founder Vidhit Mehta has called the actor’s involvement a milestone moment for the studio, while the team has said its broader goal is to prove that India can produce games that compete globally, not just regionally.

Alongside its flagship project, Shortgun Games also has a cooperative indie title, Roll ’em Out, in its pipeline - suggesting the studio is building a slate rather than betting everything on one release.

The announcement lands at an interesting moment for Mahesh Babu professionally. His next film, the big-budget period drama Varanasi, is still months away from release, making this gaming investment a rare piece of news from the actor that has nothing to do with the big screen. It also places him among a small but growing group of Indian celebrities and entrepreneurs willing to bet on PC and console gaming - a segment that remains far smaller in India than mobile gaming, but one that studios like Shortgun Games are hoping to change by chasing international audiences rather than domestic ones alone.

No release date, trailer or detailed gameplay reveal for Project Takedown has been announced yet. For now, the headline is the partnership itself: a Tollywood superstar putting his name and money behind an Indian studio’s attempt to build a console-quality game that can hold its own on PlayStation and Xbox storefronts worldwide.