Asia’s biggest digital entertainment festival IndiaJoy announced that Mobile Premier League (MPL), largest Asian esports and skill gaming platform, has become the presenting sponsor for the upcoming extravaganza to be held virtually from 16-19 November. The annual event is hosted by Telangana Virtual Animation and Gaming Association (TVAGA) and supported by the Government of Telangana.
The digital entertainment festival, in its fourth edition, is bringing together businesses, business leaders, content creators, professionals across gaming, animation, digital media, and entertainment sectors, and will feature VFX, OTT Pulse, Influencer Conference, DesiToons and India Game Developer Conference (IGDC), details of which are mentioned below.
This edition of IndiaJoy is expecting international participants from more than 50+ countries and globally recognised, prominent AVGC and many tech giants are set to share advancements in new and emerging technologies.
“We are thrilled to present this year’s edition of IndiaJoy along with TVAGA and the Government of Telangana. Hyderabad has emerged as the next big gaming destination after Bengaluru, and an event like IndiaJoy, which brings together all stakeholders under one roof will further boost engagement within the sector. Our vision at MPL is to revolutionise the mobile gaming and esports landscape not just in India but the world and we look forward to sharing our experience and insights and delve deeper into ideas that will propel the industry forward,” said MPL co-founder and CEO Sai Srinivas.
Sharing details of the virtual gathering IndiaJoy program director Sunil Chakravarthi said, “Telangana, the youngest state in the country, has organized and hosted world-class events. IndiaJoy, the brainchild of Telangana has demonstrated significant success during its last three editions, and this global scale digital festival is generating enormous interest among many AVGC industry experts. While this edition is going to be virtual, we see it as an advantage, as the speakers and participants are boundless. Over 500 delegates, 18000+ participants, 200+ tracks, and 100+ panel discussions confirmed already, we have already witnessed a 2.5x increase in participants this year, nothing less than an international physical event that is full of joy, yes ‘Virtual is Reality’.”
“In the past three editions, IndiaJoy has played a significant role in boosting the AVGC sector in Asia. It has also helped shine a spotlight on the city of Hyderabad as one of the important hubs in the global digital entertainment industry. The media and entertainment sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.7 per cent to reach INR 2.23 trillion (US$30.6 billion) by 2023. Telangana Government has been at the forefront of harnessing the new digital entertainment revolution that requires a state to promote the use, adoption, and adaptation of cutting-edge technologies,” said Telangana government municipal admin & urban dev, industry & commerce, ITE&C minister K T Rama Rao.
“We continue to build a robust ecosystem, infrastructure base to promote leading-edge technologies which is a must for success. Initiatives such as Image Towers and hosting global scale events like IndiaJoy which encompass animation, VFX, OTT, and gaming have catalysed the growth of the sector both in Hyderabad and in India. Our vision is to make IndiaJoy an event that the world looks forward to every year,” he added.
“India has lately seen tremendous growth in the creative tech and digital sector (AVGC Sector) with an estimated reach of three lakh crore (approx. USD 44 billion) by 2024. Hyderabad has always been the epicentre of growth in this sector and Telangana Govt has played a key role in promoting this ecosystem. Now we are at a juncture witnessing rapid growth, it entails a lot of strategic value to keep the momentum by continuing to support such a mega event like India Joy,” said Telangana government Industries and Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) department principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan.
The organisers of the event, TVAGA Core committee members – Rajiv Chilaka (president), Mr Sridhar Muppidi – (VP), Madhava Reddy – general secretary, played a crucial role in bringing their experience, and passion to make IndiaJoy a platform that boosts the fame and advancements of Indian AVGC industry at international level.
Talking about the upcoming event, TVAGA mentor and Green Gold Studios founder & MD Rajiv Chilaka said, “As we welcome the fourth edition of IndiaJoy, it gives me great pleasure that Green Gold Studios has contributed to bringing the best creators, producers, broadcasters, business and creative heads onto a single platform. IndiaJoy was established to celebrate the success of the industry, exhibit the talent within it and provide a space for the leaders of the AVCGI to deliberate the way forward. We have accomplished all that in our previous editions, and we look to continue building the event to encompass more ideas, individuals and technology.”
“India’s trajectory in the digital media world is exponential and is now a globally acknowledged force to reckon with. The creative technology innovations in AVGC are also noted for import to adjacent sectors like education, and R&D design. Telangana has shown strong strategic intent in partnering industry and academia with enabling policy and infrastructure support to take the games, VFX and animation industries to new levels of performance. IndiaJoy is the forum that celebrates the milestones and acts as a torchbearer for the state. Connections and collaborations is what I hope to see flourish at this year’s event,” said CII National Committee for AVGC chairman and Technicolor country head Biren Ghose.
The Indian media and entertainment industry is witnessing a new era of game-changing development and IndiaJoy will see pioneers from the sector sharing their insights. In the past editions, IndiaJoy attracted exhibitors from across the globe, including Adobe, Netflix, Sony, British Columbia, Moiba, Gametion, Australian Trade Commission, Victoria Trade, Unity Epic, and Homa Games.
Since its inaugural edition IndiaJoy enjoyed a record-high number of visitors to attract more than 30,000 plus participants, visitors, and global delegates. Including, attracting investments of USD10 million for the past three years and catalysed the emergence of startups.
Here are details of the events taking place:
1. VFX- This year, the VFX summit will witness participation from VFX giants from across the globe, with a lineup of conferences, panel discussions, Networking sessions. Attendees at the summit include some of the biggest studios, VFX specialists, broadcasts, students, brands, agencies and creative professionals from the industry.
A Global Scale VFX Summit made its debut in IndiaJoy 2019 in Hyderabad the emergent creative city of the world, home to world-leading film, TV, VFX, animation, and video game companies. The purpose of the event is to facilitate B2B virtual networking, exposition, and expert speaks about top-of-the-line visual effects that are in great demand. TV shows that seek cutting edge VFX work ensuring the industry to flourish in recent times and a lot more knowledge sharing is expected during this VFX summit.
2. OTT Pulse – IndiaJoy’s OTT Pulse will see content creators, industry experts, senior media executives and leading digital platforms showcase and discuss their opportunities, challenges, and strategies in partnership with Green Gold Animation, OTT Pulse will delve into the world of creating and distributing truly personalized content.
OTT Pulse will be a part of inaugural event on this 16 Nov will have multiple panels and keynotes which will include representation from the leading digital platforms, such as NetFlix, Amazon Prime Video, Viu, VOOT, Aaha and ZEE5 among others.
The content viewing in OTT platforms grew multifold, according to a recent CII-BCG report, the number of paid OTT subscriptions was up by 55-60 per cent to 100-125 million in 2020 from 49 million subscriptions in 2018.
Combination of low-cost mobile data, affordable smartphones, fresh content, and lockdown induced boredom changed the game for OTT industry. The way in which audiences consume content has changed dramatically during the pandemic, with the number of people turning to OTT taking a sharp rise, driven by both the pandemic and the proliferation of streaming services.
With the rise of massive entertainers like Netflix’s runaway hit Squid Game came like a bolt from the blue for viewers around the world. Our own India’s famous Chota Bheem, had made many glued to OTT platforms in India. The pandemic pushed big budget movies and the smaller ones equally to be streamed in these platforms.
3. Influencer Conference- India’s largest Influencer convention that provides a platform for aspirants to connect with celebrity influencers and industry experts. Influencer Conference facilitates participants to meet, connect and showcase the best of the talents to national and international stakeholders of the industry. It is where production houses, motivational speakers, young aspiring artists gather to make a unified talent show where people can enjoy and get a chance to learn and inspire.
4. Desi Toons- An ideal platform for animation content creators, studio executives, animators and students to gain insights from the leaders in creation, broadcasting and distribution. The animation sector is witnessing rapid growth, the congregation will see industry leaders, ace content creators and broadcasters from the Indian animation industry sharing their insights into how to succeed in today’s dynamic and disruptive times. The Indian media and entertainment industry is witnessing a new era of game-changing development and IndiaJoy will see pioneers from the sector sharing their insights.
5. IGDC (India Game Developer Conference)- The IGDC, India’s premier event for game developers is a major catalyst in enabling the growth of the Indian gaming ecosystem and sees enthusiastic participation from game developers, publishers, and investors each year. Its goal is to support and empower game developers with insights, upskilling, and networking opportunities in the presence of industry leaders and investors.
The event is expected to see attendance from around 10,000 people, 120+ industry experts, 100+ e-stalls, 30 publishers, and 30 investors. Unreal Engine will be the presenting sponsor and MPL and AWS will be the gold sponsors for the event.