Nazara Technologies joins AIGF, to lead industry body's game developer collective

AIGF claims to have over 150 members including online gaming companies and game developers across all formats and genres

Diversified gaming and esports firm Nazara Technologies has joined skill gaming industry body All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) as a principal member, highlighting the company's growing ambitions in the burgeoning real-money gaming segment.

Nazara Technologies founder Nitish Mittersain will join the executive committee of AIGF while the company will lead the industry body's recently established not-for-profit collective All-India Game Developers’ Forum (AIGDF), which claims to be the largest body of game developers in India.

The industry body aims to work towards increasing gaming IPs (intellectual properties) generated from India by leveraging progressive policy and regulatory framework for game development.

"As one of India’s largest and most diversified gaming group, and with vast experience across game development, esports and pay-to-play, it will definitely strengthen AIGF and its vision. We will also rely on Nazara’s experience to strengthen AIGDF," AIGF CEO Roland Landers said in a statement.

Nazara Technologies stated it will actively contribute to AIGF's initiatives that aims to create a conducive gaming ecosystem in the country.

"Through my role on the Executive committee shaping AIGF’s vision and agenda, Nazara will actively contribute to shaping policy frameworks, promoting responsible gaming, especially in the Real Money Gaming (RMG) segment, and championing the needs of Indian game developers and the Indian gaming community" Mittersain said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Mittersain told Moneycontrol that they are eyeing a larger presence in the real-money gaming business, with regulatory clarity appearing to emerge in the space.

Nazara Technologies will work with local and international developers to publish new real-money games that will target Indian audiences as well as scout for potential acquisitions to drive consolidation in the sector, Mittersain said.

For the financial year FY23, the real-money gaming vertical reported revenues of Rs 57 crore, accounting for a modest 5 percent of the company's overall revenues.

"We've not had a very large business in the real-money gaming (RMG) sector. It is therefore an opportunity where we can now start investing and grow that business to a meaningful scale and the opportunity is there in the real-money gaming segment," Mittersain said at the time.

The real-money gaming segment accounted for 77 percent of India's gaming sector revenues in 2022, which stood at Rs 13,500 crore, as per a recent FICCI-EY report. Nazara Technologies currently operates titles such as Classic Rummy (online rummy) and Halaplay (online fantasy) in this space.

Meanwhile, AIGF claims to have over 150 members including online gaming companies and game developers across all formats and genres. Among its prominent members include Mobile Premier League (MPL), Gameskraft, Head Digital Works (A23), and Zupee.

These developments come at a time when the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has notified new gaming-related amendments to the IT Act 2021 in April 2023, that will establish multiple self-regulatory organisations (SROs) who will determine whether a real-money game, where transfer of money is involved, is permitted to operate in India or not.