DEV DAY 2025

Thank You for Making GDAI Dev Days a Success!

From Kochi to Chennai, Ahmedabad to Bangalore — GDAI Dev Days 2025 was a celebration of India’s thriving game development community, and it wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Event Highlights

Cities

Attendees

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Sessions including talks, panels, and demos

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Game Dev Spotlights & AMA Sessions in every city

To all the speakers, sponsors, attendees, volunteers, and partners — thank you for your time, energy, and belief in India’s game development ecosystem.

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CHENNAI

KOCHI

AHMEDABAD

BANGALORE

Date: 23rd May 2025

Venue: Central Lecture Theatre, IIT Madras

Address: Sardar Vallabhai, Sardar Patel Road, Chennai ,Tamil Nadu 600036

Time	Topic	Names of Speakers
9:30:00 hrs	Registration & Networking
10:30 - 10:35 hrs	Welcome & Introduction	Machaiah Kalengada, GDAI
10:35- 10:50 hrs	Inaugural Session: Crafting a Creative Economy: Tamil Nadu’s Mission to Lead in Games and Beyond	Thiru Brajendra Navnit, IAS, Principal Secretary to Govt, IT and Digital Services Department, Govt of Tamil Nadu
10:50 - 11:20 hrs	Talk: Future of XR Game Development in India	Dr.M.Manivannan, Professor, IIT Madras
11:20 - 12:05 hrs	Master Class: The Nuances of Scoping & Staging for Games	Prashanth Krishnan, Highbrow Interactive Mario Royston, Weloadin
12:05 - 12:35 hrs	Talk: Building Global Games with Local Soul- Creating cultural experiences that connect globally	Abraham K, Ayelet Studio
12:35- 12:45 hrs	Women in Games	Pavithra Sridhar, GDAI Women in Games Lead
12:45 - 13:45 hrs	Lunch
13:45- 14:30 hrs	Panel: From Pitch to Profit- Navigating the Game Development Life cycle for Success	Karthic Ramamoorthy, T-Accelerate Shobana Prakash, Ventana Ventures Saikt Mondal, Nazara Aditya Deshpande, Lumikai Jeno Manickam, Highbrow Interactive Moderator: Machaiah Kalengada, GDAI
14:30 - 15:00 hrs	Talk: Monetisation 3.0: Gamifying Commerce in the Attention Economy	Upamanyu Chatterjee, PlaySuper
15:00- 15:45 hrs	Masterclass: Are We World-Class Yet? What Still Holds Back India’s Game Art and How to Fix It	Magesh Kumar Udaya Kumar, Lighthouse Games Sarath Kumar, GitInk Studio
15:45 - 16:15 hrs	Talk: Career Positivity in Games	Joshua Jebadurai, Gitink Studio
16:15 - 17:00 hrs	Game Dev Spotlight: Demos & AMA	Moderated by GDAT
17:00 - 17:05 hrs	Closing Remarks	Prannay Suvarnaa, GDAI
17:05 onwards	Tea Break

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Date: 27th May 2025

Venue: Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM),

Address: Kerala Technology Innovation Zone, Kinfra Hi-Tech Park Main Rd, HMT Colony, P.O, Kalamassery, Kochi, Kerala 683503

Time	Topic	Names of Speakers
10:00- 11:00 hrs	Registration & Networking
11:00- 11:05 hrs	Welcome & Introduction	Machaiah Kalengada, GDAI
11:05- 11:35 hrs	Talk: From Idea to Launch: What It Takes to Build a Game from Scratch	Anuj Sahani, KRAFTON India
11:35- 12:05 hrs	Talk: Monetisation 3.0: Gamifying Commerce in the Attention Economy	Abhir Das, PlaySuper
12:05- 12:35 hrs	Talk: Navigating Growth and Visibility for Games - MetaShot Journey	Prince Jacob Thomas, Metashot
12:35- 1:35 hrs	Lunch
13:35- 14:30 hrs	Panel: From Pitch to Profit- Navigating the Game Development Life cycle for Success	Anuj Sahani, Krafton Poornima Seetharaman, Ventana Ventures Abhir Das, PlaySuper Mukesh Dev, Banzan Studios Moderator: Machaiah Kalengada, GDAI
14:20- 14:05 hrs	Talk: Bringing Games to the Global Stage- An Indie Studio Perspective	Dr. Jake Koshy, Norian Games
15:05- 15:35 hrs	Panel: Building a Game Developer Ecosystem in Kerala	Jim Jose, DynamicNext Gokul Elayidath, Ether Games Tom Thomas, KSUM Moderator: Karthik Suresh, Offline Human Studios
15:35- 16:05 hrs	Panel: Skilling for the Future- Policies driving change	Philip Thomas, Academy of Media & Design Jayaraj G, CDIT Anando Banerjee, Lakshya Digital Fr. Dr. Jaison Paul Mulerikkal, Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology Moderator: TBC
16:05- 16:15 hrs	Women in Games	Prannay Suvarnaa, GDAI
16:15- 16:45 hrs	Game Dev Spotlight: Demos & AMA	Moderated by GDAI
16:45- 16:50 hrs	Closing Remarks	Prannay Suvarnaa, GDAI
16:50- 17:20 hrs	Tea Break

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Date: 29th May 2025

Venue: i-Hub Gujarat,

Address: Prajna Puram, KCG Campus, opp. PRL, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380015

Time	Topic	Names of Speakers
10:00 hours	Registration & Networking
11:00 to 11:05 hrs	Welcome & Introduction	Nitish SK, GDAI
11:05 to 11:25 hrs	Talk: Gujarat Leads the Way: Unlocking India’s Gaming Potential through Ecosystem Support	Hiranmay Mahanta, i-Hub Gujarat
11:25 to 11:45 hrs	Talk: From Gujarat to the World: How We’re Powering India’s Next Gaming Revolution	Bharat Patel, Yudiz Solutions Limited
11:45 to 12:15 hrs	Talk: State of Unity	Aniruddha Haridkar Unity
12:15 to 12:45 hrs	Talk: Building Global Hits from Tier 2 India - AppGuruz Playbook	Yuvraj Zala, AppGuruz
12:45 to 13:45 hrs	Lunch
13:45 to 14:30 hrs	Panel: Level Up Your Player Base: Smart Strategies for UA & Retention	Sukrut S. Vanani, XSQUADS Aayush Agarwal, Booboo Games Yuvaraj Zala, AppGuruz Dakshil Mehta, UMX Moderator: Abhinav Chokhavatia, Zatun
14:30 to 15:00 hrs	Talk: The Art Direction for Games: Character Design, Storytelling & Cultural Relevance	Shyam Deshpande, KRAFTON India
15:00 to 15:30 hrs	Talk: From Clients to Creators: How We Evolved from a Work-for-Hire Studio to Building Our Own IP	Abhinav Chokhavatia, Zatun
15:30 to 16:00 hrs	Panel: Outsourcing Game Development from Gujarat: Scaling Globally, Building Locally	Sani Trivedi, Artoon Solutions Vivek Shah, Capermint Hiten Dodiya, Yudiz Solutions Moderator: Nitish S K
16:00 to 16:45 hrs	Game Dev Spotlight: Demos & AMA	Moderated by GDAI
16:45 to 16:50 hrs	Closing Remarks	Nitish SK, GDAI
16:50 hrs	Tea Break

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Date: 3rd June 2025

Venue:K-Tech Innovation Hub

Address: 29/A, 27th Main Road, Sector 5, 1st Sector, HSR Layout, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560102, India

Time	Topic	Names of Speakers
9:30- 10:30 hrs	Registration & Networking
10:30- 10:35 hrs	Welcome & Introduction	Machaiah Kalengada, GDAI
10:35- 11:05 hrs	Talk: KRAFTON’s India Story: Our Vision, Investments & Commitment to Local Talent. What Global Publishers Look for in Indian Studios	Nihansh Bhat, KRAFTON India
11:05- 11:50 hrs	Panel: Beyond the First Download: Best Practices in UA and Retention That Drive Long-Term Success	Anshul Singh Parihar, Moonfrog Labs Biplove Belwal, Nukebox Parth Agnish, Gameberry Labs Moderator: Anurag Choudhary, Felicity Games
11:50- 12:20 hrs	Talk: Cutting Through the SDK Chaos: Smarter Tools for Game Developers	Aishik Pyne, PlaySuper
12:20- 12:50 hrs	Talk: Building a Career in Game Development: Roles, Roads & Realities	Saurabh Sha, KRAFTON India
12:50- 13:50 hrs	Lunch
13:50- 14:35 hrs	Panel: The Money Game: Decoding the Investment Landscape in India’s Gaming Industry	Deepak MV, Nazara Nihansh Bhat, KRAFTON India Shouradeep Chakraborty, PlaySuper Krish Anurag, Chimera VC Moderator: Imtiaz Hussain, Yesgnome
14:35- 15:05 hrs	Talk: Post Mortem of Bonfire, the Game- An Indie Journey	Himanshu Manwani, Xigma Games
15:05- 15:50 hrs	Panel: Game Design 101- Advice for your Younger Self	Oliver Jones, Bombay Play Shalaka Rawat, PlaySimple Games Girish Krishnan Ramdas, Stellarplay Games Moderator: Vivek Ramachandran, Glitchcraft
15:50- 16:35 hrs	Panel: Ethical Use of AI in Game Development	Deepak MV, Nazara Shrungar Dadarkar, Scopely Harini Sudersan, Poovayya & Co Moderator: Raju Patil, Lakshya Digital
16:35- 17:15 hrs	Game Dev Spotlight: Demos & AMA	Moderated by GDAI
17:15- 17:20 hrs	Closing Remarks	Prannay Suvarnaa, GDAI
17:20 hrs	Hi- Tea