In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest gaming markets worldwide, only falling behind such countries as China and Japan. More widespread use of smartphones has affected all sectors of the economy significantly, but the gaming industry has undergone a massive evolution thanks to the growing number of users of smartphones.
To get a better insight into just how large the gaming industry in India is, let’s look at some numbers. The Indian gaming industry’s market value in 2019 amounted to approximately 62 billion Indian rupees (over USD 800 million) and is expected to grow over 250 billion rupees (over USD 3.3 billion) by 2024. With more and more people stuck inside their homes during the worldwide pandemic, the gaming industry is set to even grow more, not only in India but every other major gaming country as well.
All sectors of the gaming industry are well represented in the Indian market. Despite the growing number of mobile gaming users, PC and console gaming still hold their niche in the young Indian population.
Holy Cow Productions
Holy Cow Productions is an independent game development studio located in Bangalore, a place often called the Silicon Valley of India.
Announced at E3 2015 during Microsoft’s press conference, Holy Cow Productions in collaboration with Hamburg-based Infinigon is behind the action role-playing game (RPG) Zenith.
The game was a massive success from the outset, landing the Holy Cow Productions a place on our list. The game is a great mixture of the best that RPG offers, with humor and satire.
The game relies on a strong plot that develops in a land of fantasy inhabited by hundreds of unconventional characters. Zenith gives the player an opportunity to go on epic adventures, explore centuries-old ruins, accidentally start an apocalypse, and everything in-between those.
The quirky and stunning Zenith was originally launched on PC, PS4, and Xbox in 2016, and more recently landed a spot in the growing catalog of Nintendo Switch console games, with a hilarious trailer to go with it.
Zenith certainly put the Holy Cow Productions on the map, but they have other innovative and interesting games for not only PCs and consoles but iOS and Android as well.
Octro
Another successful game development studio in India is Octro. Founded in 2006, the company was focused on VOIP (voice over IP) for almost six years, before venturing into the gaming business. Octro has made a name for itself by building on the beloved Indian games, such as Teen Patti, an Indian poker game, and making them their own, with unique graphics and amazing user experience.
Teen Patti isn’t the only game that Indians love to play. Along with the gaming industry in India, online gaming has also been getting a great deal of attention from the growing number of consumers. Experience of playing Indian casino for real money is very sought after among the smartphone users in India, giving rise to this industry as well.
Octro’s design style has been seen in quite a lot of Indian gaming websites, but the company itself denies any sort of involvement. This is understandable as every gaming studio tries to avoid any and all gambling affiliation as much as possible. However, there has been no legal pursuit of this claim. In a market as large and noisy as India, it’s very important to have one’s brand image always in the display for potential customers, so maybe Octro won’t even pursue any charges.
CreatioSoft
CreatioSoft is an Indian mobile game developer that has produced over 100 games and applications for all smartphone platforms, such as iOS and iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows. CreatioSoft has a long list of influential corporations that they have partnered with in the past, including Baidu, Games2Win, UCWeb, and many others. With their tremendous expertise in the creation of all sorts of open source technology, this developer has managed to rise on top of the Indian gaming industry in only a matter of a few years.
Dhruva Interactive
Dhruva Interactive has a special place on the list as the first game company ever in India. Founded in 1997, this company is also based in Bangalore. Dhruva Interactive works on developing games with cutting-edge technologies, stunning graphics, and engaging gameplay. In May 2019, Dhruva became a part of the Rockstar Games family, an American video game publisher known for the worldwide hit Grand Theft Auto (GTA). Ever since Dhruva employees have been integrated into Rockstar India and continue delivering fresh titles under the global corporation.
Octane Tech
Founded in Mumbai in 2008, Octane Tech has ever since been a pioneer in the Indian gaming market, being one of the first to integrate new technologies into their games, such as 3D graphics, GPS, touch-screen, and most recently AR. They focus on mobile games and thus far have created numerous top-selling games. Their most recent title, City Cops follows two dedicated cops and a robber, with their fast-paced chase around the city being in the center of the game. Fun and quirky at first sight, this strategy game delivers interesting storylines and engaging puzzles and is certainly up to the Octane Tech standards that people have grown to love and value over the years.
