Indian gaming industry should develop games based on our culture: Ministry

Industry players have lamented that taxing GST on deposits rather than the technology platform commission charged by the companies will make the unit economics unviable, wiping out 80 per cent of the industry.

New Delhi: As the 28 per cent GST on online gaming continues to hammer the sector, Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, said on Thursday that gaming companies should innovate and develop more games based on our culture, like Ramayana and Mahabharata, to increase their reach among the masses.

Addressing the second edition of the IDGS Gaming Conclave, organised by the Indian Digital Gaming Society (IDGS) in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he told the industry players to develop games on Indian culture.

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“Let us realise the value of our culture and develop games that can go international. Something like Ramayana and Mahabharata, if we can convert them into games, it will be great,” Sahay said.

“We are a big visible global player and we are making a difference in this industry. We are trying to bring in education, skilling, and innovation together on a mission mode. We want dedicated funds for this sector — Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC), including gaming, which can help to develop infrastructure,” he stressed.

Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton, the South Korean developer behind the popular BGMI mobile game, spoke about investments and Krafton’s expectation in terms of return of investment (ROI).

“Being a strategic investor, it’s difficult to quantify the ROI. We are looking at where there could be some positive outcomes that we are expecting for long investments. I can say that the Indian market is sizable for top games like BGMI,” said Sohn.

Rajan Navani, President of IDGS and Founder and CEO of JetSynthesys emphasised their commitment to nurturing a conducive environment for the growth of the gaming industry in the country.

The conclave was held as several homegrown gaming companies like Mobile Premier League (MPL) and Hike’s Rush Gaming have laid off hundreds of employees in the wake of 28 per cent GST on online gaming.

Industry players have lamented that taxing GST on deposits rather than the technology platform commission charged by the companies will make the unit economics unviable, wiping out 80 per cent of the industry.