The India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) raised the curtains of its 16th edition with over 6000 attendees on the first day at HICC in Hyderabad. The day’s highlight included the participation of Government of India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry (MIB) secretary Sanjay Jaju, and more than 100 global and local gaming developers and publishers showcasing their works.
Jaju held policy meetings with the founders and CXOs of the leading video gaming and interactive entertainment companies present in India. He spoke on Shaping the Future: Insights and Vision for the Game Industry. Addressing the media at IGDC 2024, he shared that the Union Government is cognisant of the difference between video gaming and interactive entertainment industry versus real money gaming industry. He emphasised that the video gaming industry is essentially led by content and creativity. MIB would work with the Game Developer Association of India (GDAI) to create high quality talent at scale in India so that India can dominate the global gaming space. GDAI was officially launched today with a mission to unify, promote, and elevate India’s growing video gaming and interactive entertainment industry.
“As an apex body representing video game developers, video gaming studios, and other stakeholders from the video gaming industry, GDAI seeks to provide a cohesive platform for industry growth, policy advocacy, and strategic collaborations with various ministries to position India as a global leader in the gaming sector,” said GDAI chairperson Sridhar Muppidi.
GDAI was established in response to the rapid expansion of India’s video gaming industry, which now serves a user base of over 500 million gamers and generates close to 10,000 crore of revenues for the global and local video gaming companies. Despite this growth, the sector has faced challenges related to differentiated recognition from real money gaming, policy support on talent creation and skilling, and a lack of funding support for the nascent ecosystem to grow.
“Our vision is to establish India as a premier destination for game development and interactive entertainment, while ensuring the industry receives the recognition and support it deserves. Currently, the sector falls under multiple regulatory bodies, leading to fragmented oversight and inconsistent policy support. We believe that the I&B Ministry is best suited to serve as the nodal authority for the gaming industry, given its role in overseeing entertainment content and media,” Muppidi added.
The first day of IGDC 2024 saw some interesting panel discussions including: Level Up Game Development Using Generative AI; Powering Global Gaming: Strategic Investments and Market Dominance; Web Games: The Game Changer Revolutionising the Gaming Landscape and the panel on India Gaming Market Status Quo.
