India’s gaming industry gets its own showcase

MUMBAI: India’s gaming sector is finally getting the spotlight it craves. On 29-30 November, Mumbai will host GamingCon Bharat 2025, the country’s largest gaming festival and industry conference. The Indian Game Publishers and Developers Association (IGPDA), which represents the country’s only video-games-focused industry body, expects over 10,000 gamers, developers, publishers, investors and policymakers to descend on the Nesco Bombay Exhibition Centre.

The event marks a coming-of-age moment for an industry that has long operated in the shadow of its western counterparts. GamingCon Bharat splits into two distinct experiences: a consumer festival showcasing Indian-made titles like Mukti, Age of Bhaarat and Ludo King, alongside esports tournaments featuring FAU-G: Domination and Indus Battle Royale; and the IGPDA India Gaming Conference, a business summit tackling AI, cloud gaming and policy frameworks.

That last bit matters. Following India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, senior government officials and politicians will engage directly with industry leaders. The timing is deliberate. India’s gaming market is booming, but lacks the infrastructure and policy support that turned Montreal and Poland into gaming powerhouses with franchises like Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher.

Industry heavyweights are bullish. Nazara Technologies chief executive  and founding member of IGPDA Nitesh Mittersain calls it “the launchpad for India’s next-gaming success stories.” Ncore Game founder Vishal Gondal says it’s “where India’s gaming future begins.” Gametion founder & chief executive Vikash Jaiswal puts it bluntly: “The world has Gamescom, we have GamingCon.”

The festival will feature 100-plus exhibitors across eight fan zones and stages, a cosplay competition, and a developer showcase spotlighting homegrown intellectual property. For an industry desperate to prove it can create culturally relevant games with global appeal, GamingCon Bharat represents both challenge and opportunity. Whether India can translate this ambition into the next breakout hit remains to be seen. But at least now it has a stage to try.