Indian Game Developers and Publishers Announce Industry Body After Parliament Passes Online Gaming Bill

A selection of game developers and publishers in India have formed an industry body to present a unified voice in light of the parliamentary approval to the Online Gaming Bill, 2025. The newly announced Indian Game Publishers and Developers Association (IGPDA), which includes companies like SuperGaming, Reliance Games, Dot9 Games, among others, has also proposed a strategic partnership with the state of Maharashtra, seeking favourable policy to attract game makers and investors to Mumbai.

The group was launched Tuesday, days after the upper house of the Parliament passed The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, that seeks to ban all forms of online real money games. Indian game developers and publishers have long sought distinction from real money games in the country, that have operated in a legally grey area even as betting and gambling are prohibited in majority of regions across the country.

IGPDA Presents 'Unified Voice'

The IGPDA represents a “unified voice” for Indian publishers and developers and will advocate for original “made-in-India” IP and “globally competitive triple-A” titles, the group said in a press release on Tuesday. The Indian games industry, however, remains largely a mobile-first market with nearly 97 percent of gamers playing on smartphones and tablets, as per a Niko Partners report in 2023. Less than one third of gamers in India spend money on video games. The games market in the country remains dominated by free-to-play mobile titles.

The newly launched industry body comprises of Nazara Technologies, Gametion, nCore Games, Reliance Games, SuperGaming, Tara Gaming, Underdogs Studios, Aeos Games, and Dot9 Games — studios that have developed titles like World Cricket Championship, Ludo King, Fau-G: Domination, WWE Mayhem, and Indus Battle Royale. Tara Gaming is working on a PC title, The Age of Bhaarat, which was announced in May, while Underdogs is working on Mukti, a narrative-driven adventure game currently in development for PC and PS5.

Maharashtra Partnership

The IGPDA also proposed a state partnership with the Government of Maharashtra, seeking policy support to attract gaming companies to Mumbai. An inaugural event in partnership with the state government is set to take place in Mumbai towards the end of the year, the group said.

Just as Indian game developers and publishers have come together to form an independent industry body, several popular real money gaming platforms, including Dream11, MPL, and Zupee, have started winding down operations in the aftermath of parliamentary approval to the Online Gaming Bill.

In an interview with Moneycontrol published Monday, Dream11 founder Harsh Jain said the ban on real money gaming platforms had erased 95 percent of parent company Dream Sports' revenue.