Two friends, one laptop
How a pair of gamers from Chitwan built one of Nepal's first game studios.
Asim Basnet and Prakash Shrestha grew up in Chitwan playing video games and wondering why so few were made in Nepal. In 2018 they decided to make their own. Asim took on game design and 3D modelling; Prakash studied computer engineering and became the lead developer.
Their first game, Sprite Ninja Run, was built on a single laptop and reached Google Play in 2020. Players found it far beyond Nepal. Dark Matter was registered as a company in December 2021, and in 2022 it won an investment pledge at the Nepal Start-Up Fest.
Today the studio works from Kathmandu. We ship our own games, build learning tools for classrooms, make games for brands and NGOs, and run community events to help Nepal's next game developers get started.
Our story so far
- 2018
Two friends start making games
Asim and Prakash begin building games in Chitwan.
- 2020
First game on Google Play
Sprite Ninja Run launches. It goes on to pass a million downloads.
- 2021
Dark Matter is registered
The team becomes a company in December.
- 2022
Investment pledge
Dark Matter receives an investment pledge at the Nepal Start-Up Fest.
- 2024
Nepal's first Nepali-only game jam
We host three days of game making, with NPR 20,000 in prizes.
- Now
Kidsage live, Bus Game Nepal in beta
Our learning game is in schools and homes, and our biggest game is on the road.
How we work
Small on purpose
Every project gets senior attention, not a rotating cast.
Play it first
We play everything ourselves, over and over, until it feels right.
Local roots, global players
Made in Nepal, with Nepal in it, for players everywhere.
Want to build worlds with us?
We're always glad to meet developers, artists and designers who love making games.