India’s most promising young game developers are stepping into the limelight with the announcement of the Top 10 games from the inaugural Road to Game Jam—a major highlight of the Create in India Challenge: Season 1 under the Government of India’s World Audio-Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES). These standout titles will be showcased at the WAVES Summit in Mumbai from May 1–4, 2025, celebrating the imagination and innovation shaping the future of Indian gaming.
Organized by the Game Developer Association of India (GDAI) in collaboration with Kratos Gamer Network (KGeN), Road to Game Jam falls under Pillar 2 of WAVES, focused on AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, Augmented/Virtual Reality, and the Metaverse). The initiative aims to spotlight emerging talent, promote collaboration, and strengthen India’s fast-growing game development ecosystem.
Response & Participation
The event received an overwhelming response, with over 5,500 registrations from more than 1,650 colleges across 453 cities and towns in India. Through a series of AMA sessions and hands-on workshops led by industry veterans, participants gained valuable insights into game design, storytelling, and the business of gaming.
After multiple rounds of eliminations, 175+ teams submitted original game prototypes, which were rigorously evaluated by an expert jury comprising experienced professionals from across the gaming industry.
Top 10 Finalists
The Top 10 games selected from Road to Game Jam will be presented live at the WAVES Summit in Mumbai. These innovative titles—developed by student teams, solo creators, and early-stage startups—highlight the rich diversity and creative potential of India’s next-gen developers.
Rewards and Recognition
The Top 10 teams will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the WAVES Summit, where they will showcase their work to an international jury of gaming professionals. The top three winners will also share a prize pool of ₹7 lakh:
First Prize: ₹3.5 lakh- Second Prize: ₹2 lakh
- Third Prize: ₹1.5 lakh
First Prize: ₹3.5 lakh
Second Prize: ₹2 lakh
Third Prize: ₹1.5 lakhGame Jam Themes
Participants created their games based on a set of unique themes designed to challenge conventional thinking and inspire a blend of creativity and technical skill.
India’s Growing Strength in Game Development
India is rapidly emerging as a global force in the game development space. A recent report by Lumikai, the country’s pioneering interactive media and gaming venture capital firm, revealed that India now boasts over 550 million gamers, with 175 million making in-game purchases.
Key enablers of this growth include:
- Affordable data access
- A mobile-first gaming culture
- A digitally savvy youth population (65% under the age of 35)
Beyond sheer numbers, India’s creative strength lies in its engineering and design talent, a thriving indie game community, and increasing support from government and industry. Initiatives in skilling, infrastructure, and funding are gaining momentum, while global studios and publishers are increasingly investing in co-development and partnerships with Indian creators.
Conclusion
The Road to Game Jam has not only spotlighted the creativity and talent of India’s future game developers but also reinforced the country’s potential to lead in global game creation. By bringing together young innovators, industry mentors, and global platforms, this initiative is paving the way for a stronger, more inclusive, and internationally competitive game development ecosystem.
As the Top 10 teams gear up to present their creations at WAVES Summit 2025, their journey represents a broader national aspiration—to position India not just as a booming gaming market, but as a global powerhouse of original, world-class game development