The annual India Games Development Conference was held from November 22nd to 23rd.

It was an opportunity for industry members from all around the world to see how the market is growing in India.

PocketGamer.biz had the opportunity to sit on the panel for the Upcoming Game of the Year category for the IGDC 2019 Awards.

During the panel, we saw a variety of titles and genres, demonstrating the rising trends in the country.

“We are a mobile market. It is this whole market, gaming is taking off because of mobile,” IGDC chairman Rajesh Rao told PocketGamer.biz.

The challenges faced

As with any rising market, however, India faces its fair share of challenges.

One such problem is talent. While more designers, coders and artists are emerging, it is still difficult. Game developers are constantly on the lookout for good talent to join their team.

Unfortunately, the education system in the country doesn’t appear to offer all that is needed.

“I would say talent is and has always been and continues to be a challenge. I mean we talked to most of the established developers and they will tell you how hard it is to find a good game programmer,” said Rao.

“Coding is a challenge. I think consistently. I hear people saying so hard to find good programmers.”

“Our education ecosystem is not in place.”

Rao added: “It's a learning curve but what matters is it's a growing market. The more games we make, the more people will enjoy them.”

Driving factors

A key focus for the Indian market is real-money gaming, particularly through fantasy sports such as cricket.

The idea of real money gaming revolves around players placing bets over the outcome of a skill-based game, with the developer taking a small percentage of the total money placed. 

As well as real money gaming, esports are beginning to make their mark in India too. 

“It's evolving. I think it's nebulous to be honest. We have some things that are working in real money. Gaming is working, you know, fantasies work because of cricket - which are easy to learn,” said Rao.

But perhaps the most significant trend in the Indian game market is a real sense of comradery, with many people opting to help each other rather than trying to outdo one another.

A foundation has been laid, with new developers and industry workers building upon it year-on-year.

Rao explained: “Everybody's come up the hard way and, of course, now we have big investments going into companies. But for the first 10-to-15 years, everybody came up the really hard way, so much struggle.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the market continues to grow and develop in the coming years. As new developers make their way into the industry, they will learn through each new published title.

If you would like to learn more about the annual IGDC event, you can visit the website here.