Chennai, October 28, 2026: The Game Developer Association of India (GDAI) launched its annual ‘GameDev Outlook 2026’ report at the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) in Chennai, mapping growth priorities and challenges for the country’s gaming industry. The report, developed in partnership with chief sponsor PhonePe Appstore and research partner The Dialogue, examines structural barriers faced by Indian game developers and outlines strategies for building globally competitive studios.
India’s video-game market generated an estimated US$1.04 billion in revenue in 2025, reflecting 14.8% year-on-year growth and a player base of 511 million. Despite this expansion, annual revenue per user remained low at US$2.04, highlighting the gap between user growth and monetisation potential.
Key findings from industry survey
The report draws on a survey of 104 industry respondents and 13 academic institutions, identifying access to capital, publishing expertise, production capabilities, and market access as critical enablers for studios. Among surveyed studios, 82.7% cited the launch of new game intellectual property (IP) as a top priority, ahead of entering international markets (49.0%) and raising capital or securing publishing deals (38.5%). Three-quarters of respondents identified capital or publishing investment as a barrier to growth, while 41.3% of industry submissions originated from Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations, reflecting the geographic spread of talent.
Market trends and opportunities
The report notes that female participation is approaching half of India’s player base and that non-battle royale titles are increasing their share of mobile revenue. Opportunities are emerging across genres, platforms, and audience segments, with a growing focus on building original IP with international appeal. The report also explores the co-affinity of gamers with other digital categories, finding that midcore gamers lead in digital multi-homing (finance, travel, business), hardcore gamers dominate media and audio consumption, and casual gamers rely heavily on core utilities and shopping. Additionally, 40% of PhonePe Appstore users navigate in a regional language.
Policy support and industry collaboration
The report was co-sponsored by Gameberry Labs, NODWIN Gaming, Chimera VC, and 1312 Interactive. It comes as the Union Budget 2026-27 proposes an allocation of INR 250 crore for Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, a move seen as critical for helping studios progress from prototypes to market-ready releases and sustainable businesses. The report calls for closer collaboration between developers, investors, publishers, and educational institutions to strengthen the commercial foundations of the gaming ecosystem.
Sridhar Muppidi, Chairperson of GDAI, said India’s young and diverse creative base, combined with the Union Budget’s talent development allocation and GDAI Vision 2035, could help a new generation of developers build games for the global market. Priya Narasimhan, Chief Business Officer at PhonePe Appstore, noted that user acquisition remains a major challenge for Indian developers and highlighted the importance of the report’s insights into user behaviour for building effective strategies.
Survey methodology and GDAI vision
The GameDev Outlook 2026 report is based on a survey of industry and academic stakeholders, with findings reflecting the responses of participating organisations rather than national estimates. GDAI’s broader vision targets USD 10 billion in annual gaming content exports, 500,000 direct jobs, and 1.5 million indirect jobs, aiming to position India among the world’s top three gaming exporters by 2035.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a press release provided by the concerned organisation and has been edited for style and clarity with the assistance of AI tools. BusinessFortnight does not verify, endorse, or take responsibility for the claims, figures, or statements made in the original release.
