The WAVES Summit 2025 in Mumbai has firmly established India's entry as a gaming global giant, showcasing the immense potential driven by the nation's market size, cultural depth, and growing talent pool. Imagined by professionals like Shuji Utsumi, President and COO at Sega Corporation, the summit showed how technological innovation, changing business models, and a thriving gaming culture are propelling India to the global leadership in game development.
Utsumi quoted India's unique combination of technical expertise and cultural diversity as placing it at the forefront to lead the next wave of gaming innovation, specifically with artificial intelligence.
The Indian gaming market, worth around USD 1.5 billion in 2024 and projected to reach USD 3.6 billion by 2030, is expanding rapidly, fueled by an increasing number of gamers and increased recognition of game development as a career.
A panel of prominent Indian gaming industry leaders-Manvendra Shukul (Lakshya Digital), Bimal Julka (Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports), Sean Hyunil Sohn (Krafton India), and Nitish Mittersain (Nazara Technologies)-discussed the robust growth of the industry and the opportunities in the offing.
They highlighted the expansion of good developers and the rising stature of India as a cost-effective hub for producing quality content.
WAVES 2025, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is India's first global audio-visual and entertainment summit that aims to unite creators, startups, industry leaders, and policymakers from over 90 countries. The summit integrates films, OTT, gaming, animation, digital media, and emerging technologies, turning India into a $50 billion media and entertainment economy by 2029.
The summit's dedicated gaming area hosted global players like Microsoft Xbox, Dream11, Nazara, Krafton, and JioGames, pointing to the central role of gaming in India's digital economy. Efforts like the Create in India Challenge and WAVES Bazaar facilitate innovation and global partnerships, further establishing India as a gaming destination.
In brief, WAVES Summit 2025 has put the spotlight on India's thriving gaming ecosystem, merging cultural innovation, technological advancements, and entrepreneurial passion to establish itself as a global player on the gaming map.
