The year-end is a busy time for the game industry, and by extension, for us as game media. We get some of the biggest releases of 2025, as game companies put out their AAA offerings in time for the holidays. And that means our writers are busy beavering away on reviews and other coverage of unmissable releases.
We also have to prepare for awards season, planning coverage of major global events such as The Game Awards, and preparing our own Game of the Year rankings. It's a process that first involves catching up on any stray games in our backlog before casting votes and selecting winners.
For me, it's also a period of tons and tons of travel, as many of Asia's biggest IRL game events are bunched together in autumn. In 2025, with barely any break between them, I went from Tokyo Game Show in late September to LevelUp KL in Malaysia and gamescom asia in Thailand in October. That was before November took me to the India Game Developer Conference, G-Star in South Korea, and WePlay in China. After six back-to-back expos in six different countries, I feel more connected than ever to Asia's gaming scene.
India's Game Developer Conference
I was particularly impressed by the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC), held this year for the first time in Chennai, after previous editions in India's tech hub Hyderabad. It's been a couple of years since I was last in India, which was also my first time there. It's been interesting to see how the videogame landscape has changed.
On my first visit in 2023, I learned that India's game market was 90% mobile games, with "real money games" (that is, games where you gamble and make real-life financial wins and losses) dominating, along with a lot of cricket games. On the flipside, there was a small but promising spread of games for PC and console, mostly made by small independent teams. And, of course, a huge outsource community making games behind the scenes for Western companies.
Earlier in 2025, the government of India passed a law that banned gambling games outright, throwing the market into disarray. It was surely a tough blow for the makers of such games and their investors. And many have called for a more nuanced approach to responsibly policing gambling games rather than banning them altogether.
However, many of the game developers I met at IGDC welcomed the ban, calling those games overwhelmingly predatory. They believed the overall reputation of videogames as a hobby and art form would become more positive with gambling games out of the picture. Either way, the new regulation has forced a shift, and game publishers and developers must adapt.
India 40 at IGDC
I also saw a lot more games being made for console and PC than last time. Over the past few years, major Western and Asian platforms like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo have invested in the country. PlayStation, in particular, is running its India Hero Project, which supports games like "Fishbowl," "Bloody Boots," and "Suri: The Seventh Note" with funding and development support. The goal is eventual release on Sony's hardware.
Also, the organizers of IGDC have raised government support to take Indian games to global events, like the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and Tokyo Game Show. Also, in May, a new showcase called Indie Game Utsav was held at Mumbai Comic Con. It was organised by a group of developers led by Avichal Singh from Noddizng Head Games, the developer of probably India's biggest overseas hit game, "Raji: An Ancient Epic."
These kinds of developments have brought India's independent game makers together and given them platforms to showcase their games. The result was an area at IGDC titled "Indie 40" that actually showcased around 50 indie games, alongside another section of titles from female developers. And let me tell you, some of these games are shaping up to compete on the global stage.
Lots of Talent
At IGDC, I was on the judging panel for the India Game Awards 2025 and various pitch sessions. I also advised a dozen or so studios during three hours of mentoring sessions. So I saw A LOT of games.
One title that set tongues wagging among judges and attendees alike was "The Misadventures of Spaceman Biff," a deliberately punishing 2D platform game designed to fill players with rage when they inevitably make one small mistake and have to start all over again. Spaceman Biff is being made by solo developer Vignesh Sathyamoorthy (Prescription Studios), working in his free time alongside his day job. But its challenging gameplay, cool visual design and slick trailer make it an ideal game for streamers, with a chance to become a viral hit when it is eventually released.
I also got a second chance to play "Twin Flames," a puzzle-adventure game also made by a solo developer, after it was shown at Tokyo Game Show a couple of months earlier. "Twin Flames" can be played alone or with a friend. Its dual protagonists, Savitri and Satyavan, are taken from a romantic story in the Mahabharata, an ancient book of Hindu mythology. The game's gorgeous visual style, amorous underpinnings and increasingly challenging puzzles make it an easy recommendation for couples looking for an evening of brain-tickling cooperative play.
"Cosmic Race: Galactic Showdown," meanwhile, offers fast-paced race antics in a cool retro sci-fi visual style. "Dodo Duckie" lets players switch between 2D and 3D platforming action as they progress through its stages, and thriller "Mukti" plunges players into a gritty rendition of modern-day Mumbai. The variety on display at IGDC was as impressive as the quality of the games.
Comparing Shanghai
This trend was mirrored at WePlay in Shanghai, an event focused entirely on indie games. While China has become a dominant force in the global game industry thanks to unexpected hits like "Genshin Impact," "Love and Deepspace" and "Black Myth: Wukong," its indie scene boasts dozens of excellent games that are finding a worldwide audience.
In many ways, India's current game industry reminds me of China around 15 years ago. Like India today, China's game industry back then was built around outsourcing. While the dominant PC game market was rife with piracy, consoles from PlayStation, Nintendo, and others were completely banned, and the market was subject to heavy-handed government policies.
China overcame these hurdles to build one of the world's leading tech infrastructures and the No 1 game industry. Its large population of 1.4 billion people allowed Chinese companies like Tencent, NetEase, and miHoYo to amass enormous war chests that they directed into global growth.
India's population is similarly large, and also the world's youngest. Over half the population is under the age of 25. It's also hugely aspirational, and as mobile phones and PCs become more capable of running high-end games on lower-priced hardware, the domestic audience is coming online.
Also, like China, India benefits from a huge overseas diaspora that will help spread its games around the world.
Rise of Web Games
One thing I learned in more detail on this trip to India was the importance of browser-based games there. These are games that can be played via a web browser on any PC, and sometimes even on phones. That means there is no need to buy expensive hardware or download a game to local storage.
I moderated a panel at IGDC about this topic with specialists Mohan Doss (ChennaiGames Studio) and Vijay Srinivasan (Hammerplay Studios). They explained the difficulties in making games for the super low spec required to play in a browser, and the potential profits that make it worthwhile.
Elsewhere during my week in the wonderful city of Chennai, I met veteran developers who are paving the way for the next generation, young entrepreneurs who are creating their own companies to make and sell games, and students who are preparing to join the ranks of India's game industry. All of them were keen to learn about the game business from an international perspective. And many of them asked me about life in Japan and whether there might be a place for them here.
Looking Forward
India's game industry still has a long way to go. However, the relentless curiosity, impressive technical skills, and growing artistic ambition of its talents suggest it won't be long before Indian games take their place alongside those from China, Japan, and the West.
And now, after several months of jet-setting, it's back to reality. Comfortably settled at home in Tokyo, over the next few weeks, I'll attack my gaming backlog to catch up on the games I missed this year, just in time to cast my votes in IGN Japan's Game of the Year roundup. I hope you found plenty to play this year, too!
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Author: Daniel Robson
Daniel Robson is the Executive Producer of IGN Japan. Follow his series, Gamer's World, and his artist interviews on JAPAN Forward.
