The India Game Developer Conference 2022 returned on-ground with 4000+ attendees and 60+ exhibitors

The 14th edition of the 1GDC – The India Game Developer Conference that was held between the 3rd and 5th of November, 2022 witnessed over 4000 attendees. This event featured game developers. publishers, investors as well as gaming enthusiasts at the Hyderabad International Convention Center.  This initiative with the tagline “by the industry, for the industry”, focused on empowering game developers with opportunities to network and upskill their craft. This event had 150 speakers featuring 80+ sessions ranging from workshops, talks and panels across games technology, art, design and production. The three-day event also featured CXOO panels that discussed the Indian gaming industry, investment trends and their predictions for the future. IGDC’s flagship networking initiative, the Investor- Publisher Connect saw the highest ever entries with around 75 startups, 28 investors and publishers conducting over 600 meetings in 2 days. The IGDC Awards also boasted a record number of 150+ game entries that featured a new category of popular choice. This quipped the interest of the audience and made it an engaging event. Lastly, the BYOG initiative (Build Your Own Game) also saw a record number of 700+ participants together making 170+ game submissions for the judges to evaluate.

Day 3 of the Conference saw a new initiative called IGDC Futures being launched with the sessions focussed on opportunities in the gaming industry with the intent of encouraging the next crop of talent into the gaming industry.  

Commenting on the conference, Rajesh Rao, Convenor and Chairperson, IGDC, said, “IGDC 2022 has exceeded all expectations as we made our on-ground appearance for the first-time post pandemic. It was heartening to see the tremendous turnout and participation from all parts of the gaming ecosystem, people clearly wanted to meet in person and network.  This year saw a record number of meetings between investors, publishers and startups. Key trends included seeing a number of upcoming games with Indian themes, with local cultural and social flavour. IGDC Awards saw a jump in overall quality of submissions. Wrapping up yet another buzzing year, we are confident that this edition’s success will yield greater achievements and contribute to the overall growth of the gaming industry.”

IGDC had strong support from across the Industry. Epic Games’ Unreal Engine was the Presenting Sponsor for this year’s conference, KRAFTON, Inc. the Platinum Sponsor, AWS as the Gold Sponsor, Rockstar Games & Kwalee partnering as Silver Sponsors; Games24x7 as Experience Partner; Microsoft, Xbox, Ventana Ventures, Arsht Rock, Winzo, Hyper Hippo, Hero Vired, Tezos as Bronze Sponsors; Nazara Technologies was the Awards Sponsor; London Stock Exchange Group, Payoneer, Loco and Hungama as Associate Sponsors. IGDC Futures was supported by Crazy Labs and PTW while Global Victoria was the Country Partner. Lakshya Digital and Yesgnome as the ecosystem partners.

-By Aaron and Rajesh

 

Taiwan Excellence Gaming Cup

 Gaming is no more simply about plugging in a controller to play, it’s about plugging into an entirely new realm, captivating youngsters like never before! During the pandemic, the esports industry has undergone a paradigm shift in terms of demographic engagement, appealing a lot more to younger cohorts like the Gen Z.

Catering to such gamers who look at gaming as a way of self-expression is Taiwan Excellence (TE) that has been offering uber cool, high-end and some of the most powerful gaming gadgets to enhance experiences of gamers across the world. Till date, TEGC has witnessed huge success from across India with the participation increasing from 500 gamers in its inception year to about 20,000+ gamers in its 8th edition last year depicting a growth of 4000 times.

On September 10, the stage was set at Mumbai’s Infinity Mall to kickstart the grand Taiwan Excellence Gaming Cup (TEGC) campaign in India, the first on-ground event after the pandemic. The campaign holds at its core a three-fold gaming extravaganza that includes the announcement of the 9th edition of the TEGC, the launch of TE Experience Truck and the TE Verse ─ World of Excellence.

Since years now, TEGC has been giving India’s passionate gamers the chance to experience great gaming, win big money and fulfill their dreams. This year, the Qualifiers for the games will be held online for Pan India from September 26 to November 13 while the Grand Finale will be held on-ground in Mumbai in end November.

The TE Experience Truck is a customized mobile showroom that aims to offer visitors a chance to experience some stylish, smart, and extremely intelligent technology in ICT and gaming. It will visit major events across cities including college festivals, food festivals, regional festivals, gaming events, and malls to let people catch a glimpse and first-hand experience the superb tech. It will cruise from September 10 to November 12 at prime locations across India

Another major highlight is a customized TE Verse ─ World of Excellence that takes visitors on a virtual tour to experience a wide range of the latest products offered by brands under TE. There will also be dedicated VR setup for the TE Verse at the TE Experience truck for audience to experience the virtual tour.

This year, leading brands like AIFA, AORUS, CoolerMaster, CyberPower, D-Link, Ipevo, MSI, Optoma, Predator, Republic Of Gamers, Thermaltake, Tokuyo, XPG, Zowie and Zyxel will be showcasing their products

The TEGC campaign comes to India at an opportune time when virtual gaming is no longer just a prerogative of young urbanites. The interest in esports is expanding beyond the metros to cover Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Speaking about this year’s edition of TEGC, Director Edison Po-yi Hsu, Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) Liaison Office in Mumbai, said, “We have had an amazing journey in India. The passion and excitement in gamers are unmatchable. esports has become an aspiration for Indian youth today. TEGC already has a huge fan base in India and we are sure our other two offerings, the TE Experience Truck and TE Verse – World of Excellence which is extremely special creations will win hearts too. With this year’s gaming cup, we look forward to breaking all our previous records of participation.”

 

 

GoodGameNation signs Viral Fission to drive India's largest college esports competition

 Viral Fission, Asia's largest GenZ community, today announced that it has signed a multi-year contract with GoodGameNation (GG Nation), India's first and only esports-as-a-service platform, to create India's largest esports championship and transform gaming from a hobby to a lucrative career option for millions of Indian student gamers by creating gaming clubs and gamer communities across campuses in India.

Esports is the fastest-growing sport globally and is the competitive format of video gaming, and is now a medal sport in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games; esports are also under consideration for the Olympics. To unearth and attract gaming talent that can represent India on the world stage, GoodGameNation has also announced its plans to disburse ₹ 3 crores in cash prizes.

Over the course of three years, this tie-up envisions attracting 100 million gamers and hosting over 16,000 intra-college and 10 national-level college esports tournaments.

 

Speaking on the vision for the partnership, Animesh Pande, Head of Marketing, Community & Content from GoodGameNation, said, "We are excited to partner with Viral Fission to amplify our efforts in campus esports in India. Viral Fission's track record of delivering youth activation for some of the biggest brands globally was an important factor in GoodGameNation picking them to amplify our efforts in campus esports. At GoodGameNation, we truly believe in the power of esports and its ability to bring communities together.

 

The Federation of Electronic Sports Associations of India (FEAI), the country's apex body for esports, states that India's esports industry will touch INR 1100 crore by FY25. This association will present the student gamers across the nation with unique opportunities to upskill themselves in the gaming arena through mentorship programs and engagement with their peers. "With this partnership, we endeavor to further our mission to build the most holistic and well-rounded ecosystem of gamers in the country by creating a platform for them to compete at multiple levels, upskill themselves and potentially even explore a full-time career in this fast-growing industry. Our dream, though, is to create esports athletes that could represent India at international tournaments and bring glory to Bharat," He further added.

 

Under the partnership, campus-based gaming clubs and gamer communities will be created across campuses to provide an opportunity for student gamers to compete in domestic and national-level esports competitions. These clubs will also be an inclusive space for gaming enthusiasts, game developers, and game streamers, to cultivate a sense of belonging. They will further act as a catalyst for brands to host various mobile, console, and PC games competitions in over 3000 colleges across the country.

 

Speaking on this partnership, Umang Gandhi, Product Head from Viral Fission said,

"We believe in fostering communities and in creating community first experiences in order to foster and nurture the next generation. Gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries globally, providing ample opportunities for young minds. With our partnership with GG Nation, we are glad to be a part of the global gaming boom and to bring gaming-first nano-communities within the campus ecosystems. This truly will create a unique experience for the youth and will foster the culture of gaming at the grassroots level. We aim at unlocking unique opportunities for the youth to get on board this wagon and build lucrative futures for themselves in the gaming industry."

 

About Viral Fission

Viral Fission was founded in November 2019 with a vision to bridge the gap between India's energetic youth and the brands they love. The core thought is an inspiration drawn by the founders from their own academic experience and learning. The company aims at redefining brand salience metrics with/for the youth. Viral Fission offers a community-based youth network that co-creates unparalleled brand experiences.

Website: https://www.viralfission.com/

 

About GoodGameNation

GoodGameNation (GGNation) is India’s first and only esports-as-a-service provider for student gamers in high schools and colleges. GGNation offers a holistic and structured program in esports that includes competitions at an institutional, domestic, regional and national levels, coaching from professional players and teams, and career opportunities for the best performers every annual calendar. GGNation was founded in 2021 by Abhinandan Balasubramanian, ex-founder of Racing Promotions which was majority acquired in 2021, and Hariansh Nagpal, Director of Rosmerta Group of Companies. GGNation already has campus gaming clubs in 100 colleges across India, and has conducted over 500 tournaments till date.

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