India-Born Startup Kriyora Concepts Launches an IP-Led Phygital Game Reimagining Timeless Epics for Global Audiences

Bengaluru: Kriyora Concepts Pvt. Ltd., a Bengaluru-based consumer product startup, has announced its launch as an IP-led company operating at the intersection of culture, experiential gameplay, and thoughtful technology integration. Founded in 2025 by retail veteran Sudeesh Shanmughan, the company debuts with EpicVerse, a first-of-its-kind, patented phygital game that reimagines ancient Indian epics as interactive, non-preachy experiences for modern, global audiences.

The launch comes at a time when storytelling and learning have become increasingly screen-driven and passive, often consumed rather than experienced. Kriyora Concepts aims to address this shift by creating products that bring people back to meaningful, shared interaction, blending tactile, physical experiences with selective digital and AI-enabled support layers—so learning becomes experiential rather than instructional.

Founder Sudeesh Shanmughan brings over 21 years of leadership experience across some of India’s most influential retail and lifestyle brands, including Titan, Tanishq, Arvind, and Shoppers Stop. His career spans retail experience design, customer engagement, brand development, and large-scale consumer interaction, giving him deep insight into how products build emotional relevance, cultural resonance, and long-term adoption.

“Over time, I noticed that some of our richest stories were being reduced to background noise,” said Sudeesh. “They were being watched, skimmed, or skipped—rarely experienced. EpicVerse by Kriyora comes from the belief that stories don’t survive by being consumed; they survive by being lived.”

EpicVerse, Kriyora’s flagship creation, translates the Ramayana into a strategic, physical-first learning experience where players understand values such as choice, consequence, courage, restraint, and responsibility through gameplay rather than explanation. Designed for audiences aged 8 to 80, EpicVerse requires no prior knowledge of the epic and avoids religious instruction, focusing instead on universal human themes that remain relevant across cultures and generations.

A defining moment in Kriyora’s journey came when India’s Prime Minister posed a broader question to the startup ecosystem about taking Indian epics into the world of gaming. For the Kriyora team, the remark served as a validation of a vision already in motion—one focused not on digitising stories, but on reimagining how timeless narratives can be experienced interactively without losing depth or intent.

EpicVerse is deliberately positioned as a category-creating phygital product, where the physical game remains central and technology acts only as an enabling layer. This IP-led approach allows Kriyora to design for longevity, ensuring scalability across markets, formats, and future extensions—including upcoming experiences inspired by other Indian epics and philosophical works.

In a strategic departure from conventional startup trajectories, Kriyora Concepts has chosen to pursue community-led crowdfunding rather than early institutional or venture capital funding. This approach enables the company to retain creative independence, validate demand organically, and invite early believers to participate in building a culturally meaningful product from the ground up.

As Kriyora Concepts begins its journey, the company positions itself as an India-born innovation with global relevance, demonstrating how intentional design, experiential gameplay, and restrained technology can come together to preserve timeless stories—while reimagining how they are understood and lived in the present day.