Kwalee, a UK-based game publisher and developer, is all set to invest $30 million in its India operations over the next five years. The Leamington Spa-based firm picked Bangalore to be its first overseas studio in May 2020 and employs 50 individuals that include game engineers, visual architects, and developers. The organization plans on expansion and development and is also said to add manpower across disciplines.

Gaming industry veteran and founder and CEO of Kwalee David Darling believes that the Indian market has exponential potential to lead the gaming industry globally especially on the mobile platform. India has effectively become Kwalee’s greatest market through the registration and enrolment of about five million monthly active players across its games.

Until recently, India has contributed to developing games like BladeBlade, Forge 3D (which got more than 20 million downloads), and Teacher Simulator (more than 25 million). While Kwalee’s team from Bangalore as well has been involved in updating classic titles like Draw It (90 million downloads). Kwalee claims to have more than 600 million downloads on versatile stages with games like Teacher Simulator, Draw it, Bake it, Shootout 3D, Rocket Sky!

Kwalee is headquartered in Leamington Spa and was established by games industry legend David Darling CBE, who also co-founded Codemasters in 1986, paving the way for the midlands gaming hub that is now known as ‘Silicon Spa’. Making its name with ‘hypercasual’ mobile games known for their mass appeal and accessibility, the firm currently distributes games for PC and console platforms. Unlike other game formats, hypercasual games are easy to play, possess a simpler user interface, and are easily downloadable for free.

“It’s mind-blowing to see the group we have figured out and how to work in Bangalore, in a short space of time. The vision from the beginning was for our groups in the UK and India to team up like they were one studio, and surprisingly under favorable conditions, we’ve seen the products of that with extraordinary games and a basic commitment from our associates in Bangalore,” said Kwalee CEO and author David Darling CBE. Kwalee’s latest delivery, Makeover Studio 3D, has outperformed 2.5 million downloads surprisingly fast and recently rated among the best three-game on the App Store in the USA, UK, and Canada.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson said, “I’m delighted that Kwalee is expanding into India to make the most of the opportunities for UK businesses in one of the world’s biggest economies.” The expansion of games is giving advertisers an alternative to target the crowd by advertising on all sorts of games.” Increasing foreign investment along with the growing popularity of the video gaming market has made India one of the top five mobile gaming markets in the world. With a 13% share of global game sessions, which is expected to add 40 million online gamers during 2020−22, the size of online gaming in India is expected to touch $2.8 bn by 2022.