India’s indie game development scene is gradually expanding beyond the country’s established technology and gaming centers. Rural Games is taking a particularly unconventional route, attempting to build an independent studio from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, while developing original games and providing practical experience to emerging developers.
Founded by Sunny Rajput in 2025, Rural Games began with the idea that location should not determine who gets to make games. “Creativity and game development can come from anywhere,” the studio shared in a written interview provided to OtakuKart. That philosophy has shaped both its name and its decision to establish an identity outside India’s traditional game-development hubs.
The studio is currently concentrating its resources on Platform 13, a first-person psychological horror game set inside a mysterious Indian railway station. The project combines exploration, puzzles, environmental storytelling and suspense while drawing from the studio’s broader interest in Indian culture, railway environments, folklore and real-life stories.
Rural Games has already experienced the challenges of turning an ambitious collective into a structured development studio. After previously growing beyond 80 contributors, the company reduced its team and reorganized around specialized departments to create a more focused production pipeline for Platform 13. In an exclusive written interview with OtakuKart, Rural Games discussed its beginnings, why Meerut remains central to its identity, its remote development structure and what the studio hopes to accomplish over the next five years.
OtakuKart: How did Rural Games come together — who was in the room at the start, and what was the initial ambition?
Rural Games: Rural Games was founded by Sunny Rajput in 2025 with the ambition of building an independent game studio from Meerut. The initial idea was to create original games while giving passionate and emerging developers an opportunity to gain practical experience working on real projects. As we grew, we developed a more structured team with specialized departments and a shared focus on creating quality games.
OtakuKart: Why Meerut?
Rural Games: Being based in Meerut is definitely different from being in one of India’s major gaming hubs. It comes with challenges, especially when it comes to networking and accessing industry resources. At the same time, it gives us the opportunity to build our own identity and show that a game studio can grow from outside the traditional gaming centres.
OtakuKart: Where does the name “Rural Games” come from?
Rural Games: The name reflects our identity as a studio that started outside India’s traditional game-development hubs. For us, Rural Games represents the idea that creativity and game development can come from anywhere. It’s also connected to our goal of creating opportunities for people who are passionate about entering the game-development industry.
OtakuKart: What led to the restructuring from 80+ contributors to a smaller team?
Rural Games: As we grew, we realized that having a very large team wasn’t the most effective approach for us. We wanted a smaller, more focused team with clearer responsibilities, so we restructured and concentrated our efforts on Platform 13. This helped us become more organized and focused on building the game.
OtakuKart: How does the specialized department structure work day to day?
Rural Games: We have specialized departments such as animation, character art, environment art, props, game design, programming and audio, with leads helping coordinate each area. The teams collaborate around the same project, while regular communication, documentation and progress reviews help keep everything organized. Our team currently works primarily remotely, which allows us to collaborate with people from different locations.
OtakuKart: How do you balance learning with the pressure of developing a commercial game?
Rural Games: We try to make the development process itself part of the learning experience. Contributors get practical responsibilities within their departments while receiving guidance from their leads. We also conduct learning sessions on different aspects of game development, so people can understand both their own role and how the overall production pipeline works.
OtakuKart: What have your college and student collaborations looked like?
Rural Games: We haven’t officially collaborated with any colleges yet, but it’s something we’re interested in exploring. We’d love to connect with student communities and give aspiring developers more exposure to real-world game development.
OtakuKart: What does success look like for Rural Games in three to five years?
Rural Games: For us, success means building a sustainable independent studio that can consistently create and release original games. Right now, our main focus is Platform 13, while we continue improving our production pipeline, team structure and professional infrastructure. In the long term, we’d also like to explore opportunities such as publishing or investment if they align with our vision.
