The Indian gaming industry is on a new high as more and more homegrown companies are now creating high-quality, heavy-budget and globally-competitive games. The development marks a big shift in the focus area of Indian game developers and studios that had mostly offered casual games for years.
Last month itself saw the launch of two high-profile, heavy-budget (technically called AAA) games— Indus Battle Royale and Rage Effect: Mobile. While the former, a battle royale game, has seen close to 5 million downloads on the Android and iOS platforms since its release on October 16, the latter—an AAA shooter game—crossed 120,000 pre-registrations in its open beta version.
“As an Indian studio, we’re proud to be creating a game that resonates with local audiences while also competing globally. In addition to the strong download numbers, we’ve announced a year-long esports tournament with a Rs 2.5-crore prize pool. This is designed to support upcoming gaming talent in India and give them a platform to showcase their skills,” said Roby John, co-founder and CEO of SuperGaming, a Pune-based game developer and creator of Indus Battle Royale.
Indus Battle Royale has been developed by a team of 160 people at SuperGaming. The project has attracted significant investment from leading investors such as Bandai Namco, Akatsuki Entertainment, Skycatcher, and 1Up Ventures. “Their support underscores the increasing confidence in the Indian gaming industry and its capacity to deliver an innovative battle royale experience,” added John.
“Just like Indian movies act as cultural soft power, Indian games, too, can rise to that level. It’s something that the government is aware of and is encouraging,” said Deepak Ail, co-founder and CEO of Dot9 Games, whose Fearless and United Guards (FAU-G): Domination—a made-in-India first-person shooter (FPS) game—is all set for release early next year.
There is already a lot of buzz around FAU-G even before its launch. At its recently-held playtests in Gurugram, Mumbai and the Indian Game Developer Conference in Hyderabad, almost 90% of the audience resonated with the Indian military themes of the game while around 70% felt the gameplay exceeded their expectations, as per Ail.
The emergence of high-budget titles from India marks a positive shift in the industry, said Roland Landers, spokesperson of All India Game Developers’ Forum (AIGDF), a not-for-profit collective representing the interests of Indian game developers. “In recent years, several studios have been able to secure large-scale investments and have begun developing AAA-quality games, showing a commitment to meet global standards. Indian gaming unicorns and established companies alike have set up studios and committed significant resources to creating high-quality games, signaling that the industry is ready to move beyond its initial focus on mobile and fantasy games,” he added.
The development of homegrown titles will now lead to more Indian developers and studios working on high-quality, world-class games, said Vaibhav Chavan, founder and CEO of UnderDOGS, a Mumbai-based gaming studio and creator of over 250 games, including high-quality mobile, PC and console games, and original intellectual properties (IPs). “Look at how the mobile gaming sector grew within just five years; we’re now witnessing a notable increase in developers creating high-quality, homegrown titles that can stand out globally. What India needs is more success stories to showcase. While capital is available, it’s the scarcity of such hero stories that limits the industry’s confidence. I believe we’ll see at least five remarkable IPs emerging from India over the next three years, which will drastically shift the landscape and pave the way for numerous world-class games with solid financial backing,” he added.
UnderDOGS is currently engaged in the full-scale production of Mukti, a first-person story exploration game that won the India Hero Project, a new incubator programme launched by Sony Interactive Entertainment for Indian game developers, earlier this year. “We’re approaching our first playable version, a key milestone that will allow us to refine core gameplay and move smoothly into the alpha phase and beyond. This build will serve as a solid foundation, helping us scale production and set the direction for the later stages of development,” said Chavan.
Despite all the development, funding remains a major challenge, said Indian game developers. “Game development is a capital-intensive process, particularly as projects scale up in ambition and scope. While India’s lower cost of living and operational costs give developers an edge, creating high-quality games that can compete internationally still requires substantial investment. Unfortunately, local investors tend to lean towards sectors with quicker returns, and are often hesitant to support the longer, costlier development cycles associated with more sophisticated gaming projects,” said John of SuperGaming.
Ail of Dot9 Games said operating costs work out to be $1-2 million per year for game development studios operating in India. “If your game takes several years to develop, you can multiply that by the total years. More often than not, game studios outside India usually need 5-10 times that amount depending where they’re based,” he added.
While funding is certainly one of the biggest challenges, it’s not the only one, offered Chavan of UnderDOGS. “We often say India has enough talent, but that’s not entirely accurate. While there is talent, the deeper understanding, expertise, and techniques required to produce world-class titles are still developing. One reason for this is that many of us haven’t had experience working on large-scale titles. For us, Sony addressed this challenge directly—beyond funding, they brought essential technical expertise to the table,” he added.
Government support is also vital to India’s AAA gaming aspirations, said Landers of AIGDF. “Under Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Digital India’ vision, the government has made strides in improving infrastructure and developing policies at both central and state levels. Financial support through grants, tax incentives, and skill development initiatives can significantly boost the industry. Additionally, establishing a trusted certification programme for Indian games could enhance consumer confidence and position Indian studios as high-quality content producers,” he added.
Meanwhile, some companies are now coming forward to help homegrown gaming startups grow on a global level. Earlier this year, WinZO, a leading skill-based social gaming platform, launched ‘Bharat Tech Triumph’, an initiative through which 10 winners from a pool of over 150 participating tech and gaming companies got to showcase their products at the world’s largest gaming conference, Game Developer Conference, in San Francisco. “By showcasing inspiring stories of Indian entrepreneurs and startups, WinZO aims to ignite the spirit of technological innovation and export culturally relevant content that can deepen the understanding of India’s culture and society,” said Paavan Nanda, co-founder of WinZO.
Credit: Financial Express