The 14th edition of India’s oldest and biggest game developer conference, IGDC, is back to connecting with the audience in its original physical avatar after a covid-induced virtual get-together of two years. The conference will be held from 3-5 November 2022 at HICC, Hyderabad and it is expected that around 3000 people will attend.
Day one and day two of the conference will focus on the developer community. Like always, IGDC will have speakers and participants from the industry, academia, government, and other relevant institutions talking about technology, innovations, future trends, financial aspects, growth, talent and training, and much more. With an eclectic mix of speakers consisting of art directors, project heads, studio heads, CXOs, representing some of the top Indian and International gaming and Investment companies in the World such as Activision Blizzard King, Aream, EA, Glance, Gametion, Gameberry labs, Good Dog Studios, Jet Synthesis, Junglee Games, Lego, Meta, Moon Active, Niantic, Ncore Games, Paradox Studios, Playtika, Play Rovio, Roblox Scopely, Simple Games, Super Gaming, Stillfront, Ubisoft, Unity among others.
A preview of the State of India Gaming report by Lumikai in association with IGDC will be released on day one which will draw interesting insights and growth opportunities for the industry.
Day three has a new initiative, named ‘IGDC Futures’, will focus on students, opportunities and upskilling in the game industry and critical themes for the future like gaming and climate change.
IGDC’s flagship initiative – IP connect – is also back in a new avatar. Shortlisted studios will be mentored by a council consisting of representatives from India’s leading game investment firms. The investment and publisher sessions at the event will have one-on-one meetings and speed dating formats.
IGDC awards will reward winners across five categories – Studio game of the year, Indie Game of the year, Hypercasual game of the year, Upcoming game of the year and Student game of the year. IGDC has also launched a trophy in line with their new logo and will also have a popular choice award giving audience a chance to vote for the most popular game from amongst the shortlisted awards entries
IGDC convener Rajesh Rao said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be back in LIVE action. We are excited about the remarkable passion and commitment of speakers, panellists, sponsors, attendees, and volunteers to make this a success. The excitement around this year’s IGDC has been peaking as we are looking forward to gain from the extensively experienced individuals and institutions from across the world, and we hope the event will spur fresh discussion and debates, ideas and insights, and contribute to the growth of the sector.”
The conference will also see workshops focusing on multiple facets like the importance of storytelling, game design and system design, preparing an art deck and using data to grow games, along with the broader role of gaming in combating climate change and imparting positive changes in the society.
Epic Games’ Unreal Engine is the Presenting Sponsor for this year’s conference, KRAFTON, Inc. is the Platinum Sponsor, AWS is the Gold Sponsor, Rockstar Games and Kwalee partnering as Silver Sponsors; Games24x7 as Experience Partner; Microsoft, Xbox, Ventana Ventures, Arsht Rock, Winzo, Hyper Hippo, Hero Vired, Tezos as Bronze Sponsors; Nazara Technologies is the Awards Sponsor; London Stock Exchange Group, Payoneer, Loco as Associate Sponsors. IGDC Futures is supported by Crazy Labs and PTW while Global Victoria is the Country Partner. Lakshya Digital and Yesgnome are the ecosystem partners.
Focusing on contributing to going green in its own small-yet-significant way, IGDC has taken special measures. Merchandise made of recycled or natural materials; IGDC will also contribute to the SankalpTaru foundation by planting a tree for every speaker at the conference. The booths in the expo area will only use eco-friendly material for all collaterals.
IGDC is also the anchor event for IndiaJoy, a weeklong series of events relating to the animation, VFX, esports, film making and media sectors that are being championed by the Govt of Telengana.