Hyderabad: The 15th annual India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) wrapped its first day with gaming experts from around the world converging at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. This three-day event has drawn an impressive crowd, boasting over 4,000 attendees and featuring more than 200 speakers and 125 dynamic sessions during its duration. Additionally, the IGDC expo showcases the offerings of over 100 gaming companies.
The conference's partners, including Unreal Developer Day, Xbox Discovery Day, Unity Dev, and Google Dev, have also hosted special sessions concurrently with the main event.
One of the highlights of the conference was the launch of the 'Lumikai State of India Gaming Report FY23,' a collaborative effort with Google. Salone Sehgal and Justin Shriram Keeling, Founding General Partners at Lumikai, unveiled the report, which predicts that the Indian gaming market will reach a valuation of $7.5 billion by FY28. The report offers valuable insights into the remarkable growth observed in the Indian gaming sector in recent years.
According to the report, the Indian gaming market is expected to reach a valuation of $7.5 billion by FY28. It also highlighted robust demand for games in India, with 15.4 billion gaming downloads in FY23, reflecting the immense popularity of gaming in the country.
The report emphasised the impressive size of the gaming community in India, with over 568 million gamers, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of all Indian internet users. Notably, 140 million gamers are paying users, marking a 17 per cent year-on-year increase, indicating a substantial revenue generation within the gaming sector. The report also anticipates a robust industry growth rate of 20 per cent CAGR, driven primarily by increasing in-app purchases in casual and mid-core games and the growing in-game advertising revenues.
Demographically, the report highlighted that approximately 50 per cent of gamers in India fall within the age bracket of 18-30 years, and the male-to-female ratio among gamers is roughly 60:40. It also pointed out the increase in the number of gamers from non-metro cities, rising from 57 per cent in FY22 to 66 per cent in FY23, underlining the widespread appeal of gaming across the country.
Moreover, the report shed light on the preferred mode of payment for gamers, with 62 per cent of users favouring the use of UPI for their gaming transactions. These insights from the Lumikai report provide a comprehensive picture of the thriving Indian gaming market and its potential for further growth in the coming years.
The Lumikai report indicates that in the 2022-23 period, the number of gamers in India surged to 568 million, marking a significant increase from the previous year's 507 million. A noteworthy aspect is that 140 million of these gamers are paying users, reflecting a 17 per cent year-on-year growth. This growth is driven by the increasing use of UPI payment systems and widespread smartphone adoption.
IGDC Convenor Rajesh Rao further highlighted the substantial participation of women in the gaming community, constituting 41 per cent of the total, and the significant representation of gamers from non-metro regions, emphasising the democratisation of gaming experiences across the country.
Nitish Mittersain, Jt. MD & CEO of Nazara Technologies, expressed his delight at Nazara's sponsorship of IGDC and the continued growth of the Indian gaming ecosystem. He encouraged Indian developers to pitch their games, with the possibility of receiving significant investments to promote their games in India and worldwide.
The first day of of IGDC featured engaging panel discussions, including topics such as "What makes some games great? An analysis of iconic games Vs their forgotten competition. What lessons can be learned?" with participation from experts like Mike Fischer from the University of Southern California, Mark Stanley from Games for Change, and Dave Yonamine from MobilityWare.
Other key events on Day 1 included the panel on "The Investment scenario: A sneak peek into the Indian and Global gaming market" with notable speakers from the gaming industry. Additionally, discussions on building a VC-backable gaming business, India's gaming market status quo, and a "Women in Games Hi-Tea" event provided valuable insights and networking opportunities.
IGDC, organised "By the Industry, For the Industry," is led by industry volunteers with support from corporate and industry leaders. Over the years, IGDC has played a crucial role in fostering the growth of the Indian gaming ecosystem. This year's conference offers nine parallel sessions, solo talks, workshops, and round tables, covering various aspects of the gaming industry.
Furthermore, round tables involving industry, government representatives, academia, and policymakers have been organised by industry bodies like Invest India, Start-up India, AIGDF, Primus Partners, MESC, and the Consortium of game developers.
The conference also features the Build Your Own Game (BYOG) game jam, where developers create games based on set themes within a limited timeframe. Scheduled for November 3, the IGDC Awards will honour outstanding game developers and studios across 10 categories, showcasing the industry's best achievements. A record number of over 300 entries were received for this year's awards, with winners selected by an international jury of games industry leaders.