The All India Game Developers' Forum (AIGDF), the largest body representing Indian online game developers, is gearing up to host its first-ever gaming conference, Consilience 2023, in collaboration with the Law and Technology Society, National Law School of India University, Bangalore. The conference is set to take place on April 21st at the Bangalore International Centre, Bengaluru, and will explore India's burgeoning gaming industry. AIGDF is a not-for-profit collective under the aegis of the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), the apex industry body for online skill gaming in India.
Consilience 2023 marks the first conference of its kind to be held in the wake of the notification of the new online gaming rules by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The conference will shed light on the legal and regulatory requirements that must be met, growth strategies to be adopted, and policy needs for the industry to reach its full potential.
The speaker lineup boasts some of the biggest names in the Indian gaming industry, such as Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO, Krafton India; Manish Agarwal, Co-Founder, IndiGG; Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder & CEO, Mobile Premier League (MPL) and Anuj Tandon, CEO - Gaming, JetSynthesys. They will share their insights on how we can make India a global gaming powerhouse in line with our Hon’ble PM’s vision.
Another important topic that will be covered is "New Businesses & Strategic M&A”. Speakers such as Akshat Rathee - Co-Founder, Nodwin Gaming; Anupriya Sinha Das - Head of Corporate Development, Nazara, and Rachit Rastogi - COO, Good Game Exchange (GGX), will explore the challenges and opportunities for new and existing gaming businesses, with a focus on navigating legal, policy, and investment considerations.
The conference will also focus on how businesses can navigate the new regulatory environment and decode the implications of the new online gaming rules. Legal eagles such as Joyjyoti Misra, Group General Counsel, Gameskraft; Ritika Chatterjee - General Counsel, Mayhem Studios and Arun Prabhu - Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Law will speak on topics like Taxation in Gaming and Online Gaming Regulations.
Commenting on the conference, Roland Landers, CEO, AIGF, said, “As India's gaming industry continues to grow and mature, we believe it is important to have a platform that brings together diverse voices from various parts of the sector like business, law and technology to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. With the recent regulatory developments in the gaming sector, it is imperative that stakeholders engage in meaningful dialogue to create a progressive and sustainable roadmap for the industry to thrive. We are excited to host this conference and explore innovative ideas to unlock India's potential as a global gaming powerhouse.”
"Consilience has always been a syncretic conference bringing together different perspectives on law and technology. This year, we are proud to host it with AIGDF and bring in the perspective of business into the intersection of Law and Technology," said Shikhar Sharma, Convenor of the Law and Technology Society 2022-23.
India's online gaming industry has seen remarkable growth over the past few years, thanks to the increasing availability of low-cost smartphones and minimal tariff internet. India is the fastest growing market for gaming which is expected to grow from $2.8 billion in 2022 to $5 billion in 2025. Currently, there are over 500 gaming studios building games for more than 400 million Indian gamers. With the Indian government's recent push to regulate the industry with a progressive framework, gaming will become a key pillar of the country's digital economy and will accelerate the 'Create in India' movement.