--- title: Ex-Tencent Games CTO Joins Indian Studio Betting on AI in Video Games description: Cedrick Collomb, former Tencent Games CTO, joins Hyderabad studio Liquidnitro Games as CTO after its $19.1M Series A, betting AI makes small teams ambitious. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-07-22T12:24:21.887Z updated: 2026-07-22T12:43:27.209Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/liquidnitro-ex-tencent-cto-ai-video-games image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/collomb-liquidnitro.webp categories: Artificial Intelligence, Startups content_type: News region: India publication: Sovereign Magazine about: - type: Organization name: Liquidnitro Games description: Hyderabad-based video game development studio founded in December 2023 by four former Electronic Arts executives. It builds a proprietary AI platform, anchored by a system called Geoplay, to help small teams of experienced developers take on larger productions. The studio raised a $19.1 million Series A in January 2026 led by Northpoint Capital with Nexus Venture Partners, bringing total funding to $24.3 million. url: https://www.liquidnitro.games/ foundingDate: 2023-12-01T00:00:00.000Z industry: Video Game Development sameAs: - https://www.linkedin.com/company/liquidnitro-games/ - type: Person name: Cedrick Collomb description: Technology executive with close to three decades in games and technology. Appointed chief technology officer of Liquidnitro Games in 2026. Previously global chief technology officer of Tencent Games and CTO of EA Mobile, with earlier roles at AMD, Pearson, Kabam, LucasArts and Sony Computer Entertainment. jobTitle: Chief Technology Officer worksFor: Liquidnitro Games sameAs: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedrick-collomb-9b787b1/ --- Cedrick Collomb, who until recently ran technology globally for Tencent Games, has become chief technology officer of Liquidnitro Games, a two-year-old studio in Hyderabad. Collomb has spent close to three decades in games and technology. Before Tencent he was CTO of EA Mobile, and earlier held roles at AMD, Pearson, Kabam, LucasArts and Sony Computer Entertainment. Moving from one of the largest companies in the industry to a studio whose headcount the company puts above 140 is an unusual step at that level of seniority. His move comes as the economics of making games have turned against the old approach. A major title now routinely costs more than $200 million to develop and market, and industry trackers estimate that tens of thousands of games jobs have [been cut since 2022](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/industry-layoffs-are-seemingly-slowing-but-the-damage-has-already-been-done). Studios have closed, and publishers are under pressure to keep live service games earning long after launch. ## Why Game Development Companies Are Turning to AI The market has filled with [tools that promise cheap, automated game production](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/ai-game-creation-platforms-signal-new-phase-in-developer-democratisation). Liquidnitro is taking the opposite position. Its argument is that AI should make small teams of experienced developers more ambitious, handling the repetitive parts of production so that people can attempt larger ideas and keep the emotional detail that makes players care. [Liquidnitro Games](https://www.liquidnitro.games/) [raised a $19.1 million Series A](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/the-ai-investment-paradox-is-the-bubble-about-to-burst) in January, led by Northpoint Capital with Nexus Venture Partners taking part, which brought its total funding to $24.3 million. The studio was founded in late 2023 by four executives who previously worked at Electronic Arts. The company says it has grown past 140 developers and experts in two years and expects to pass 200 by the end of its financial year. Its technology is a proprietary platform built over the past two years, anchored by an AI system it calls Geoplay, alongside tools named Nitro Forge, Nitro Brain and Nitro Blocks. The company describes the platform as a self-learning system that informs decisions from a game's first build through launch and live operations. "Cedrick's experience, strategic vision, and deep understanding of where our industry is headed will be a tremendous unlock for Liquidnitro," said Sandeep Kowdley, co-founder and chief executive. He added that "the companies that define the future of this industry will be powered by exceptional technology and platforms." "Liquidnitro is a rare company where leadership genuinely understands that technology is a multiplier for game development," said Collomb. He said the team had "identified real, endemic challenges facing the industry and built AI solutions that scale its combined experience and deep expertise." Collomb takes charge of Liquidnitro's technology strategy, with a focus on Geoplay and on deeper use of what the company calls agentic AI workflows. ## Why Gamers Are Wary of AI Generated Games The harder problem is the audience. Many players are hostile to [games made with generative AI](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/ai-game-creation-platforms-signal-new-phase-in-developer-democratisation), which they often dismiss as low-effort content. Valve now requires developers to disclose on Steam how generative AI was used in a game, and academic analysis of those disclosures found that [labelled titles received fewer user reviews and slightly lower scores](https://theconversation.com/are-video-game-developers-using-ai-players-want-to-know-but-the-rules-are-patchy-274850) than comparable games without the label. Liquidnitro and the publishers it works with will have to convince players that games made with AI in the pipeline are worth paying for. That case may be easier to make for a small independent studio than for a large publisher such as Tencent, Ubisoft or EA, where players have been quickest to object. The company says it wants to act as a production and live services partner for global publishers on mid-to-large titles, and to expand into India, the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Whether experienced teams working with AI can turn out games that players accept is the question its funding now rests on. **About Liquidnitro Games** Hyderabad-based video game development studio founded in December 2023 by four former Electronic Arts executives. It builds a proprietary AI platform, anchored by a system called Geoplay, to help small teams of experienced developers take on larger productions. The studio raised a $19.1 million Series A in January 2026 led by Northpoint Capital with Nexus Venture Partners, bringing total funding to $24.3 million. [Website](https://www.liquidnitro.games/) ## FAQ **Q: Is AI replacing game developers?** That is the fear driving much of the current anxiety in the industry, and it is the position Liquidnitro says it rejects. Its model uses AI to handle repetitive production work so that small teams of experienced developers can take on larger projects, rather than cutting those developers out. **Q: Why are gamers against AI generated games?** Players often associate generative AI with low-effort, mass-produced content, and worry it comes at the cost of craft and jobs. The pattern shows up in the data: games that disclose AI use on Steam attract fewer reviews and slightly lower scores than comparable titles without the label. **Q: What is a live service game?** A live service game is one that keeps running and updating after release, with new content, events and fixes meant to hold players over months or years rather than selling a single finished product. Keeping those games profitable long after launch is one of the cost pressures Liquidnitro is pitching its platform against. **Q: What games does Tencent own?** Tencent, where Collomb was global technology chief before this move, is the world's largest games company by revenue. It owns Riot Games, maker of League of Legends, holds a large stake in Epic Games, and has investments across many studios worldwide.