82.7% of Indian game studios prioritise new IP, but capital crunch persists: GDAI

India’s game development industry is looking to build original intellectual property, expand internationally and increase hiring over the next two years, but access to capital, international publishing partners and production-ready talent remain critical challenges, according to the Game Developer Association of India (GDAI) GameDev Outlook 2026 survey.

The survey insights, which bring together more than 100 industry respondents and 13 responses from academia, point to growing ambitions among Indian game studios but also highlight the gaps that could constrain their ability to turn creative potential into commercially successful products.

As many as 82.7% of industry respondents identified launching new game intellectual property (IP) as a priority, while 41.3% said they were focused on scaling an existing product. Raising capital or securing a publishing deal was a priority for 38.5% of respondents.

The findings underline the importance of connecting game development with financing, publishing expertise, audience testing and launch preparation. According to the report, 75% of industry responses identified capital and publishing investment as a growth barrier.

The survey also points to an opportunity for state-level animation, visual effects, gaming, comics and extended reality (AVGC-XR) policies to support the sector's development, provided public support is linked to the commercial requirements of taking games to market.

Original IP development can help Indian studios build distinctive products and establish long-term value, but financing development cycles and securing the right distribution and publishing partnerships remain important to converting that ambition into sustainable businesses.

International expansion gathers momentum

Nearly half of the surveyed industry respondents, or 49%, said they prioritised entering international markets. However, 51.9% reported difficulty attracting international partners, highlighting a gap between studios' expansion ambitions and their access to overseas publishing and production networks.

The report points to opportunities in Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), citing industry forecasts that these regions are expected to outperform global gaming market growth through 2030. India is identified as the fastest-growing of the 13 markets covered by those forecasts.

For Indian developers, building international relationships will require more than identifying overseas demand. The report emphasises preparation, relevant introductions and sustained engagement to convert expansion plans into publishing and production partnerships.

Access to international publishers and investors could help studios secure the resources and expertise required to develop, launch and scale games for audiences beyond India.

Talent readiness emerges as a concern amid hiring plans

The survey points to a potential mismatch between studios' growth plans and the readiness of fresh talent entering the workforce. While 54.8% of surveyed studios plan to expand their teams over the next two years, 56.7% of industry responses rate fresh talent as poorly or not at all ready for production requirements.

At the same time, 80.8% of respondents reported stable or expanded teams over the past 24 months. Half said their headcount had remained stable, while 30.8% reported an expansion during the period.

The figures suggest that participating studios have largely maintained or increased their workforce capacity and that hiring demand could continue, even as companies identify gaps in the preparedness of new recruits.

The report identifies closer collaboration between studios and academic institutions as one way to address the challenge.

As many as 67.3% of industry respondents said they were willing to support curriculum advisory boards, while 45.2% were willing to offer paid internships or apprenticeships. Among academia respondents, 92.3% expressed interest in game jams and developer meetups.

Six of the 13 academic submissions reported studio partnerships under discussion, while two reported existing partnerships.

The findings point to an opportunity to make game development education more closely aligned with production requirements through curriculum inputs from studios, supervised projects and structured internships. The report also cites the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies and proposed Content Creator Labs in schools and colleges as part of the institutional support available to the sector.

Studios seek to turn regional participation into a development opportunity

The survey also highlights the potential contribution of smaller cities to India's game development ecosystem.

According to the report, 41.3% of GDAI industry submissions came from Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations. Separately, data cited for PhonePe AppStore show that 70.6% of its users come from Tier 3 regions.

The report presents these findings as an opportunity to strengthen regional gaming participation and development by expanding access to mentoring, developer communities and academic partnerships.

A wider geographical base could help create more avenues for game development outside established industry centres. However, the report suggests that regional participation needs to be supported by access to specialist expertise and commercial networks if it is to translate into stronger development capabilities.

Localisation is another potential route to expanding audience reach.

Around 40% of PhonePe AppStore users navigate the platform in a regional language, with 12 Indian languages available alongside English. Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Gujarati are identified as the most popular regional languages on the platform.

For developers, the findings suggest that regional-language store listings, promotional material and player communication could help improve game discovery. Testing across relevant devices and user groups is also highlighted as important to reaching audiences whose preferences extend beyond English-language experiences.

The data on PhonePe AppStore users reflects that platform's audience profile and should not be read as a measure of the entire Indian gaming market.

Commercialisation remains central to the industry's next phase

Taken together, the GDAI GameDev Outlook 2026 survey presents an industry with strong ambitions around original IP, international expansion and workforce growth, but with several interconnected challenges to address.

Financing and publishing support will be important for studios seeking to take new games to market. International partnerships could help them access broader commercial opportunities, while closer industry-academia collaboration could improve the readiness of incoming talent.

At the same time, the participation of developers and players in smaller cities, combined with the use of regional languages, offers an opportunity to widen the industry's reach.

The report's central message is that building a stronger Indian game development sector will require progress across these areas rather than a focus on game creation alone. Sustaining development, reaching paying audiences and helping fresh talent become productive are closely linked to building studios capable of delivering successive releases and establishing durable businesses.