Event: India Game Developer Conference 2026 (IGDC)
Dates: October 28-31, 2026. Business conference October 28-29, IGDC Playground public days October 30-31
Location: Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai
Host: Game Developer Association of India (GDAI), powered by ELCOT
The 18th India Game Developer Conference opens today in Chennai. It’s the biggest gathering of the Indian games business, and organizers expect more than 10,000 people over four days. This is the second year in Chennai after the move from Hyderabad, with the Tamil Nadu government’s ELCOT backing the event. Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON India and Tencent are partners.
The first two days are for the trade. More than 100 speakers will cover game design, storytelling, programming, technology, production, publishing and investment. The last two days turn into IGDC Playground, a public event for players.
Where the deals happen
For studios, the most useful room is Investor-Publisher Connect. Thirty-two organizations have signed up so far. On the publishing side that includes Devolver Digital, Voodoo, Headup, Miniclip and KRAFTON, plus Indian publishers Nazara Technologies and Felicity Games. On the money side there’s Lumikai, Makers Fund, Elevation and Prime Venture Partners.
That mix says something about where the Indian market is. A few years ago the conversation was about hyper-casual mobile games and user acquisition. Now international premium publishers like Devolver and Headup are coming to look for PC and console projects, while Voodoo and Miniclip keep scouting mobile. Indian studios have more ways to get funded and published than they used to.
Showcases and side programs
The Indie 60 showcase puts sixty independent games on the floor. There’s also a Women Gamemakers showcase and a Women in Gaming networking breakfast hosted with Lakshya Digital, the Gurugram art outsourcing studio.
Service companies are showing up too. Xsolla, the payments and commerce platform for game developers, is taking part to meet Indian studios. That’s a sign of what the vendors expect. Payments, web shops and live operations matter once Indian studios start selling to players worldwide rather than only through app stores.
Tickets
An early-bird Delegate pass was advertised at ₹1,500 and covers the conference, the expo floor and Playground. A four-day Business Pass with extra benefits is ₹65,000. Playground tickets for the public days are ₹299 for one day or ₹500 for both. Prices may change at the door.
India has hundreds of millions of players and a fast-growing studio base, but it still earns little per player compared with other big markets. IGDC is where you can see how that gap is closing, studio by studio and deal by deal.