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India is on the brink of witnessing a gaming revolution that is shaping the global industry. With 590 million gamers and industry projections estimating the market to reach INR 66,000 crores at a growth rate of 14.5%, as compared to the global growth of 8% (CAGR). India is now poised to become a billion dollar gaming powerhouse outpacing growth globally.

A large contributor to this sea change is mobile gaming. India has now become the second-largest mobile gaming market by downloads, with figures 3.5 times higher than the US or Brazil. As per a recent Lumikai report, 23 million new gamers from the country joined in FY24, with weekly playtime shooting up by a notable 30%. Backed by $2.8 billion in investments and significant job creation potential, gaming is becoming a key pillar of India’s digital economy.

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Nitish Mittersain, CEO & Joint MD at Nazara Technologies, says that the evolution exceeds beyond mere numbers. He underscores, “In a world where gaming is becoming a cultural and economic force, India is no longer just a consumer market, but also becoming a maker. With scale, talent, and strategic capital, Indian companies are rewriting the rules, growing from local leaders to global powerhouses.”

The country’s mobile-first ecosystem, enormous internet penetration, and tech-savvy youth have made it a fertile ground for gaming, while what’s also changing is how games are being made, distributed, and funded.

According to Anuj Tandon, Partner India & UAE at BITKRAFT Ventures, “The Indian gaming industry is experiencing a significant resurgence. A large talent pool and innovative narrative developers are fostering ecosystem expansion, leading to the creation of globally marketable games. Recognizing the emerging prominence of the Indian market, BITKRAFT is looking to make strategic investments to support its development as a vital contributor to the international gaming & entertainment sector.”

With the gaming sector in India empowering the larger community, content, and creators across the country, games are increasingly interactive among larger audiences, and platforms are working to intrigue new-age streamers and influencers from tier 2 & 3 cities in India.

Speaking about the shift in the Indian gaming market, Piyush, Founder & CEO of Rooter, “India has witnessed a significant surge in in-app purchases by gamers over the past three years, driving industry revenue growth at a 40% CAGR. Once a challenging market to monetize, improved micro-transaction behavior and effective pricing strategies are now encouraging gamers to spend more for enhanced experiences. Content creators are leveraging streaming platforms like Rooter to collaborate with publishers and raise awareness about games and their assets. Over the last two years, Rooter has unlocked multiple monetization channels, engaging with over 100 brands, numerous gaming publishers, global platforms, and gift card partners to create scalable revenue opportunities.”

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The rise in engagement is paving the way for real business opportunities. Casual games particularly have opened new doors for monetization via in-app purchases, ads, partnerships, and sponsorships especially when game access is embedded seamlessly into daily routine platforms.

Yashash Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder of Gamezop, explains, “The world is waking up to where the real action in gaming lies, and that’s India. A projected revenue CAGR of 14.5% – nearly double the global average, is a clear sign that India is not just part of the global gaming story, we’re writing the next chapter.

Web gaming, in particular, is seeing explosive traction, and India is leading the charge. We’re witnessing a new wave of native users turn to web games for their accessibility, speed, and immersive play – no downloads, no wait time, just instant fun. What’s equally exciting is that India is not just consuming web games at scale; it’s also emerging as a powerhouse for web game development.

From an infrastructure perspective, we find ourselves in a better position than ever before. Devices are becoming smarter and faster, and with 5G technology, smartphones today have more capabilities than ever. As a result, people are spending more time online, leading to a surge of apps and websites across categories. At Gamezop, we’ve seen how seamlessly web games can plug into the everyday digital lives of Indian users across news, entertainment, utility, and fintech platforms. With the right regulatory and infrastructure support, India could very well define the future of web gaming.”

Meanwhile, on the development front, the industry is seeing a shift toward homegrown innovation. Indian studios have evolved from providing services like localizing global titles to creating original games that are performing well on the global stage.

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Anurag Choudhary, Founder & CEO of Felicity Games, puts it plainly, “India is not just becoming a billion-player market,  it’s emerging as a powerhouse for innovation in mobile gaming. With a young, connected population and a rapidly evolving developer ecosystem, we’re seeing global-quality titles being built and scaled from here. At Felicity Games, we’re proud to be part of this movement by publishing Indian games for global audiences, backed by strong unit economics and technology-led operations.”

With supportive regulation, sustained investment, and a stark rise in talent, India’s gaming sector is reportedly estimated to reach around INR ~500,000 Crores  in value by 2034. India with the growth, innovation, and the large user base is set to emerge as a billion-dollar global giant, surpassing the global growth and setting new benchmarks.

Gamecity Hamburg is setting sail with the premiere edition of Portside Game Assembly – a dedicated B2B conference for international indie game leaders – taking place aboard a ship cruising Hamburg’s famous harbour on June 27. With a carefully curated program of keynotes, impulse talks, and roundtables, the conference offers a rare opportunity for studio directors and decision makers to connect in a focused and collaborative setting. Designed to spark fresh perspectives and actionable insights, the event brings together voices from acclaimed indie studios worldwide like Benjamin Laulan (COO & Co-Founder Evil Empire), Philomena Schwab (Founder Stray Fawn Studio), Søren Lundgaard (CEO Ghost Ship Games), Mauricio García (Studio Director The Game Kitchen), Kevin Zuhn (Creative Director & Co-Founder Young Horses Inc.), and more speakers. Tickets for the full conference experience, including a Networking Brunch and the Games Industry Party, are available at portsideassembly.com.

As the premiere of the Portside Game Assembly on June 27 is approaching, the laser-focused program for indie game leaders takes shape.

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Keynotes, impulse talks and roundtables: This is the program

By offering a confidential setting for studio directors, the Portside provides value through relevant conversations and strategic networking, which is also reflected in the diverse yet focused conference program. These are some of the program highlights:

• Keynote: Benjamin Laulan (COO & Co-Founder Evil Empire): The “Triple-i Initiative Deep Dive” keynote on how to create your own announcement space and talk directly to your audience when you can’t really relate to other existing showcases.

Impulse Blocks:Impulse Blocks consist of two to three impulse talks, all of which relate to an overarching topic, followed by an open discussion about the perspectives shown and an opportunity for participants to share their own experiences. The discussions will be moderated by Mariève Beauchemin (Programs Director & Co-Founder Indie Asylum) and Andreas Suika (Creative Director & Game Designer).

• Mining for Your Next Gem – How to Decide which Games to Develop

A defining and crucial decision for every indie game studio is: what of the (probably many) game ideas should be pursued? Where should studios allocate their resources – and what game will help a studio prevail? Three speakers will share their approaches to these questions in 10-minute impulse talks:

• • Philomena Schwab (Founder Stray Fawn Studio): Game Idea Validation
  • Jonas Tyroller (Founder Grizzly Games): You Don’t Need a Hook
  • René Habermann (Director bippinbits): Don’t Ship the Wrong Game

• Games Are Made by People – How to Foster a Good Company Culture

Founding and maintaining an independent game studio and managing a small to mid-size team comes with a lot of responsibility: from growing or having to downsize a team to maintaining a company culture where talent is nurtured, developed, and kept long-term.

• • Mauricio García (Studio Director The Game Kitchen): Keeping the Indie Mindset while Going Big
  • Kevin Zuhn (Creative Director & Co-Founder Young Horses Inc.): Hold Your Horses: Why Slow is How We Grow

• From Dev to Dev – Why to Invest in Other Studios

More and more indie studios take the leap to market not only their own games but also put their resources and experiences on games from other developers. Two speakers will share their motivations and learnings from investing in games and studios that are not their own:

• • Søren Lundgaard (CEO Ghost Ship Publishing): Developer by Day, Publisher by Night
  • Christian Nyhus Andreasen (COO Fair Games): How to Lose 50% and Still Prosper – Angel Investment Lifestyle

Roundtables:

Roundtables have a more interactive concept than impulse blocks and encourage participants to discuss all aspects of the overarching question from the very beginning

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• Roundtable 1: Mobile Ports – When, Why & How? Moderated by Ali Farha (Senior Producer Star Stable Entertainment)
• Roundtable 2: Stronger Together – Business Cooperations Between Indies. Moderated by Manny Hachey (Creative Director Positive Impact Games)
• Roundtable 3: (Self-)Publishing – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly. Moderated by Sophie Atkin (Director & Founder Secret Sauce)
• Roundtable 4: Longtail FTW – How to Make the Most out of Your Game. Moderated by Leonie Wolf (Associate Art Director Maschinen-Mensch)

The Portside Game Assembly website offers a detailed view on speakers, program topics and participating studios: https://portsideassembly.com/program/

The premiere of the Portside Game Assembly is supported by these great sponsors and partners: Photon and Twin Harbour Interactive!

Selection of already confirmed participants:

More than 60 studios from over 15 countries have already registered for the Portside Game Assembly conference on board the MS Princess. Besides already announced participants like Evil Empire, Stray Fawn Studio, The Game Kitchen, Toukana Interactive, Ghostship Publishing, and others, further acclaimed studios join the conference:

• Digital Sun (Moonlighter, Cataclismo) / Spain
• Keen Games (Enshrouded) / Germany
• Young Horses Inc. (Bugsnax, Octodad) / USA
• Gamious (Lake, Turmoil) / Netherlands
• Color Gray Games (The Case of the Golden Idol) / Latvia
• Massive Damage (Star Renegades) / Canada
• Beam NG (BeamNG.drive) / Germany

Further participating studios can be found on the Portside Game Assembly.