Film Star Mahesh Babu joins Mumbai-based interactive entertainment development studio Shortgun Games as strategic investor

Indian cinema superstar Mahesh Babu has joined Mumbai-based interactive entertainment development studio Shortgun Games as a strategic investor. Shortgun Games is dedicated exclusively to engineering premium interactive experiences for PC and console ecosystems.

At the core of this joint endeavour is the studio’s flagship project, PROJECT TAKEDOWN, a high-budget action adventure, narrative-driven title built to compete directly on the global stage across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, and international markets.

Co-founded by Vidhit Mehta and Jeet Chandan the company started with Web3 and Mobile games, pivoted to PC and console games in 2024.

Mahesh Babu and the founding duo are establishing a high-impact creative alliance dedicated to building original, franchise-grade intellectual properties (IPs) designed exclusively for PC and modern console platforms, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

 “Interactive entertainment is the ultimate frontier where narrative depth, cutting-edge technology, and global culture intersect,” said superstar Mahesh Babu.

“India has extraordinary creative potential, and the time is right to build original characters and cinematic worlds from here that resonate across the globe. What drew me to this company is Jeet Chandan and Vidhit Mehta’s clarity of ambition and their drive to create high-end PC and console experiences that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with international studio benchmarks. Backing young, visionary creators with such a defined technological roadmap is deeply inspiring, and I look forward to supporting our shared vision with PROJECT TAKEDOWN,” added Mahesh Babu.

To ensure Project Takedown delivers the visceral combat fluidity expected of modern high-performance titles, Shortgun Games brought on reputed Indian action director Vicky Arora who has worked on URI: The Surgical Strike, RRR, TANAAV to lead the game’s action design.  

Arora’s team has overseen motion-capture (mocap) choreography, combat pre-visualisation, and physical stunt mechanics. By integrating live stunt engineering directly into the digital character pipeline, Chandan and Mehta’s development team is crafting high-impact combat rarely attempted outside tier-one global publishing houses, the company said in a statement.

“We founded Shortgun Games with a singular focus- to prove that India can engineer world-class interactive entertainment for PC and modern consoles,” Vidhit Mehta, Co-Founder and Director of Shortgun Games said. Emphasizing the importance of the partnership, he said Mahesh Babu’s presence as a strategic investor is an extraordinary milestone. “His intuitive understanding of large-scale storytelling, emotional connection, and mass resonance elevates our entire vision as we bring PROJECT TAKEDOWN to life,” Mehta said.