'Indian Games Could Make A Global Mark Within 24 Months': Xbox India Lead Arjun Varma Talks Indie Game Support, Future Of Homegrown Studios

Varma teased that there are discussions on bringing a couple of Indian games to Xbox Game Pass. But he claims Game Pass isn't the only way to make your game truly successful.

In terms of Xbox making its presence felt on the mobile gaming platform, Varma said that’s bound to happen.

Source : Xbox

The business of video games is not easy. Or rather, if you’re an industry giant like Xbox, making sure you spot the right games and guide them to global exposure is certainly not a walk in the park. Xbox India Lead (Global Expansion) Arjun Varma is on an ever-continuing quest of hunting for promising made-in-India games and onboarding them to Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem (PC, Mobile, and Xbox) - so much so that the rear of his business card carries a nifty QR code with a simple message above it:  “Bring Your Game To Xbox”. 

The code opens up to the Xbox Game Dev page, which gives a quick lowdown of how you can bring your game to the ecosystem, engaging with over 100 million players across the globe via the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program. 

ABP Live caught up with Varma on the sidelines of the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) in Hyderabad, where Xbox announced its latest slate of India games, including the likes of Detective Dotson and Possessions. 

A former journalist himself, Varma gave a lowdown on how Xbox helps indie developers and how Indian indies stack up with global rivals.

How Many Indian Games Has ID@Xbox Brought So Far?

“Since 2022, we’ve onboarded over 50 Indian game studios and developers through the ID@Xbox Program. About six games have received funding via the Xbox Developer Acceleration Program, with more under review,” Varma said. 

Varma also revealed that eight games developed by Indian studios are getting ready for release on Xbox in 2025. These include a mix of couch thrillers, perspective puzzles, horror survivals, run-and-gun platformers, as well as full-blown action RPGs. The upcoming titles include Detective Dotson, Unwording, Winds of Arcana: Ruination, Possessions, Project Pneuma, Unsung Empires II: The Cholas, Kamla, and Kapih. 

For those unaware, ID@Xbox empowers game developers of all scales to bring their creative visions to life by self-publishing their games across Xbox consoles, Windows platforms, and Cloud. It provides the resources and support necessary to help studios bring their game to life. 

The ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program (DAP) is designed to support underrepresented creators by providing them with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities to showcase their creativity and innovation on Xbox. “DAP offers grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 to help developers port their games to Xbox. It also provides guidance and resources to aid their journey,” Varma explained.

Of course, Varma agrees that this amount might not be enough to cover all the costs of producing a video game. This is mainly aimed at helping young developers and studios to “get off the ground,” Varma said. “So that they can at least start the process of building towards a prototype or a demo as well.”

How Can You 'Bring Your Game To Xbox'?

The process is rather simple. If you have a game in the pipeline and need support, all you need to do is head to the Xbox Game Dev page, sign up, fill out the online form, and hope to get selected for the next steps.

For Xbox and Varma, the approach to selecting games is primarily two-fold - proactive outreach and responding to incoming requests. The QR code on the back of Varma’s business card is a small part of the proactive outreach bit. “I try to make myself as accessible and approachable as possible on social media as well. I'm very active on LinkedIn primarily,” Varma said. “But that’s just the first step.”

The second step involves the team reviewing the submissions, assessing potential (“how fun it is to play”, as per Varma), and then deciding on how to onboard the game or the studio. 

“About 70 per cent of our partners have received the Xbox dev kits as well, which needed some streamlining to be done, but we have managed to do that,” Varma said. 

Apart from technical and marketing support, Xbox team members also provide senior guidance to help young developers figure their way ahead through the at-times-murky paths of game production.

Will These Games Be Available On Xbox Game Pass?

Not all of these games will be available on Xbox Game Pass. “Perhaps one or two,” Varma said. “There’s an ongoing discussion at Xbox to give some Indian games the Game Pass consideration”

"There is a global perception that if they want their game to succeed, it should be on Game Pass. Now that may not be 100 per cent true," Varma. "The fact is that if you wish to have your game released to a worldwide audience, putting your game on the Xbox Store will also offer you the opportunity. That way, your game will still be available for purchase globally and you can still have a successful game."

Of course, Game Pass listing involves more complex deals and licencing fee models. "We are, of course, in discussion regarding having some titles for Game Pass. But it's still too early to reveal those names right now," Varma added.

India vs the World

How do Indian game developers and studios stack up against their global counterparts? “I think about it almost every day, since I am part of a team that is very global,” Varma mused. “Games from some regions, such as South East Asia, are a lot more mature in their game development ecosystem. The games from that region are very different in terms of visual quality, engagement, etc. India is still at a very nascent stage.”

Indian developers, according to Varma, have a “lot of potential and a lot of talent. But still, they need a strong element of guidance to bring their games up to a certain level which matches global standards.”

“We may have games coming out of this region that are really great, but they are few and far in between.”

Varma explained, “India is a mobile-first gaming market. PC and consoles form just 10 per cent of the gaming ecosystem. But the balance is shifting.”

“There’s an influx of so many new studios and games that are coming up. The kind of games that are getting made now, I do see that they could potentially make a mark globally in the coming 18 to 24 months.”

'Available On Every Screen Possible'

Following the much-talked-about Activision Blizzard, King acquisition, “Going forward, the Xbox strategy now is to be available for players on every screen possible,” Varma said. 

“Xbox wants to make sure that gamers can play their games and that they are synced on all their devices, whether it’s a console, a PC, a mobile, or the Cloud as well.”

“In India, our focus remains on connecting with a lot of PC game developers,” Varma said. “When developers usually start their journey, they look at PC first and then a console port. When I speak to developers, I get a sense that they are more interested in the cross-platform release of their games as well, which makes sense. They want to make sure they reach a large audience.”

In terms of Xbox making its presence felt on the mobile gaming platform, Varma said that’s bound to happen. “But I think that will happen in phases. The engagement will happen first with some of our more mature markets like the US or Europe and maybe with our first-party partners.” 

“Once a model is established, it will get adapted by emerging markets like India as well.”