WinZO’s 'Pitch Day' With Telangana Institutions To Support Game Developers

WinZO, a social gaming platform, has declared ‘Pitch Day’ at the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) in Hyderabad, in partnership with prominent Telangana institutions including the Indian School of Business (ISB), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT). This initiative is designed to support India’s gaming industry by mentoring local developers and providing funding to help them build and scale their projects.

‘Pitch Day’ will offer game developers the opportunity to secure funding of up to USD 500,000 and receive mentorship from investors such as Kalaari Capital, Makers Fund and Courtside. This initiative aims to encourage developers to create games with local cultural relevance or solutions addressing societal issues such as sustainability and health. It also seeks to expand India’s gaming market, which currently contributes only USD 3 billion to the global industry despite representing 20 per cent of the global gaming user base.

The program is part of WinZO's broader vision to increase India’s share of the global gaming sector to USD 60 billion over the next decade. Through partnerships and investments, WinZO is looking to close the gap between India’s large player base and its relatively small market share. Along with ‘Pitch Day,’ WinZO has already invested in gaming startups through its USD 50 million Global Game Developer Fund.

The company’s platform currently hosts more than 100 games, with over 200 million users and it continues to provide support for emerging developers.

India’s gaming industry continues to boom, generating USD 3.8 billion in revenue in FY24 and claiming 30 per cent of India’s broader new media market, which reached USD 12.5 billion. A new report by Lumikai shows growth in mobile gaming, user engagement and monetisation, indicating that the market is on track to cross USD 9.2 billion by FY29, with a projected CAGR of 20 per cent.

India’s gaming sector is positioned for growth, thanks to affordable mobile data, a large smartphone market and a growing pool of tech talent. The government has recognised the potential of gaming to create jobs, with Prime Minister Modi advocating for the use of technology to drive employment.