Karnataka can become the gaming and animation capital of India, and Asia said Priyank Kharge, Minister of Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka, addressing the second edition of the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC) in New Delhi, organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India. He announced plans to set up a gaming accelerator by the end of this financial year.

“Karnataka is the fourth largest technology cluster in the world. We run over 27 centres of excellence (COE) and are setting up a COE specifically for gaming. I am keen to host India’s first government-sponsored eSports Olympics to ensure we remain the leaders in this sector and be the most disruptive innovation capital in the world,” he added. 

Speaking on the scale of India’s gaming sector, Shri Kharge said, “The global AVGC market is estimated to be more than $366 billion with animation and visual effects constituting 46per cent share and gaming 54per cent share. The country boasts as the world’s second-largest gaming community, comprising 42.5 crore gamers, and from 2020 to 2023, the online gaming segment in India experienced a rise of 28per cent which was a market size of 16428 crore in 2023 and in the next four years, it should double.”  

Kharge shared that India had close to 1,400 online gaming start-ups in 2023 and 430 crore gaming apps downloaded in 2023. In-game purchases and deposits contributed ₹8370 crore through UPI transaction volume in India.  

“The new AVGC policy we announced recently ensures that more IPs come out from Karnataka. We are developing skills for the sector, incubating and nurturing leadership. We have a physical space for ideation, innovations, and inventions for start-ups and the sector,” he said, adding that the State runs a program called Elevate where start-ups are offered ₹50 lakh. “Last year, we funded around 30 start-ups in the AVGC sector. Overall, we have funded close to 983 start-ups,” he concluded. 

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