Highlights
- Backstage Pass and Frameboxx sign an MoU at India Joy 2025 to launch game development diplomas nationwide.
- Five new diplomas, including courses with Unity and Unreal, will offer joint certification and practical mentorship.
- The initiative supports India’s AVGC talent pipeline, aligning with the National AVGC-XR Mission to promote industry-ready education.
During India Joy 2025, Hyderabad-based gaming institute, Backstage Pass Institute of Gaming, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra-based AVGC (Animation, VFX, Gaming, and Comics) training institute, Frameboxx Animation & Visual Effects, for gaming development in India. The partnership aims to combine Backstage Pass’ academic expertise with Frameboxx’s nationwide training network to offer specialized diplomas in game development and allied fields across the country.
This initiative comes at a crucial time for India’s AVGC sector, which has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing creative industries. With the gaming market projected to grow at 15.2 % CAGR, a trained talent pool is becoming necessary to respond to the growing demand.
Backstage Pass founder and MD, Patallapalli Surya Prakash, notes that the “ecosystem is evolving at a phenomenal pace,” but the education infrastructure has lagged behind, to underscore the talent shortage in the AVGC sector. Under the partnership, both institutes plan to bring structured, industry-relevant gaming education to students across the country.
Program Details Under the Initiative
Rajesh R. Turakhia, the founder of Frameboxx, views the partnership as "a significant milestone" in bringing India's private training industry into line with professional studio standards. The MoU positions both institutions to compete with emerging AVGC-centric universities in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Pune by strategically aligning academic depth and infrastructure reach.
The joint program introduces five new courses within Backstage Pass’ curriculum, including two Diploma in Game Development courses with Unity and Unreal. The other three courses are Diploma in Game Design and Production, Diploma in Virtual Reality Application Development, Advanced Diploma in Game Development.
As per the announcement, classes will be arranged by Backstage Pass faculty and will be held in online mode. Frameboxx will host nationwide on-site mentorship, lab sessions, and technical assistance, facilitating hands-on professional experience for students.
For each course, students will receive joint certification from both institutes, with optional credentials from Lincoln University College and the Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC). Till now, the institutes haven’t revealed any details about the duration and price of each course.
In its next phase, the partnership plans to introduce university-affiliated degree programs in game development, reflecting a larger institutional movement toward formal accreditation. Recently, FICCI also collaborated with Netflix to develop an industry-ready workforce with industry-aligned academic curricula. The Backstage Pass-Frameboxx alliance underscores a strategic shift in India’s game-education landscape with a multi-certification program, professional training, and foreign university tie-ins.
These moves follow government efforts, including the National AVGC-XR Mission and state-level policies in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, that encourage certified programs and academic-industry partnerships to strengthen the talent pipeline.
