ARC enters India’s gaming arena with affordable premium handhelds

BENGALURU: A new player has entered India’s gaming arena with its sights set on levelling up premium gaming. ARC has officially launched with a mission to make high-quality gaming more accessible by developing handheld gaming devices tailored for Indian consumers.

Founded by lifelong gamers Jobin Joseph and Kaustubh K Jadhav, the startup aims to bridge the gap between India’s mobile-first gaming culture and console-grade gaming experiences. The company plans to build handheld devices that combine portability, performance and affordability, making premium gaming more accessible to a wider audience.

India has emerged as one of the world’s largest gaming markets, with millions of users discovering gaming through smartphones over the past decade. However, access to premium gaming hardware has remained limited due to high costs and a lack of products designed specifically for Indian gamers.

ARC believes this presents an opportunity to create devices that cater to local consumer needs rather than simply adapting products built for global markets.

Speaking about the company’s vision, ARC co-founder Jobin Joseph said the country’s massive gaming community deserves better access to premium gaming experiences.

He said ARC was created to build products that lower the barriers to high-quality gaming and enable more Indian players to move beyond smartphones into the broader world of console-quality gaming.

The founders say the idea for ARC was shaped by their own experiences growing up in India, when access to gaming often meant borrowing consoles, spending time in cyber cafés or waiting for rare opportunities to play premium titles. Those experiences, they say, highlighted the need for products designed around the aspirations of Indian gamers rather than the limitations of the market.

Building gaming hardware remains one of the most demanding areas of consumer technology, involving expertise in engineering, manufacturing, supply chains and product development. Despite these challenges, ARC believes India’s growing gaming ecosystem is ready for hardware designed specifically with local users in mind.

Looking beyond its first device, ARC says it wants to contribute to the broader growth of India’s gaming industry by encouraging more players to experience premium gaming through accessible, thoughtfully designed products.

Commenting on the company’s long-term ambitions, ARC co-founder Kaustubh K Jadhav said the goal extends beyond launching a single gaming device. He said the company hopes to help build a stronger gaming ecosystem by creating products that make premium gaming more approachable for millions of Indian consumers.

As India’s gaming industry continues to evolve beyond smartphones, ARC is betting that locally designed hardware can carve out a place in the market by offering gamers an accessible route to console-quality experiences.