Highlights
- Gaming industry seeks policy clarity in Union Budget 2026 after the 2025 RMG ban.
- AVGC-XR support, tax reforms, and skilling emerge as key demands.
- Indian gaming sector projected to reach $8B by FY2030, driven by game development and IP creation.
The Indian gaming industry faces a critical inflection point ahead of Union Budget 2026-27, one year after the 2025 ban on real-money gaming (RMG) reshaped the regulatory landscape. While the ban disrupted parts of the market, it also triggered a broader policy reset, with growing government focus on video gaming, esports, and game development.
As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Budget on Feb. 1, 2026, industry leaders are calling for targeted fiscal support and regulatory clarity to unlock long-term growth.
Video gaming is now among the fastest-growing digital entertainment segments in India and globally. Stakeholders argue that aligned policy frameworks could allow India to move from being a large consumer market to building a sustainable game-creation economy driven by developers, studios, and original intellectual property (IP).
According to BITKRAFT’s India Opportunity Report 2025, India’s gaming and interactive media sector is projected to triple in size to about $8 billion USD by FY2030. The report positions India to evolve from an over 500M gamer base into a globally competitive creation hub anchored in developer talent and IP-led exports.
Indian Gaming Industry Pushes Game Development Agenda for Union Budget 2026
Sridhar Muppidi, chairperson of the Game Developer Association of India (GDAI), said the sector stands at a pivotal moment.
“As India accelerates toward its goal of a $1 trillion digital economy, the gaming sector stands at a pivotal inflection point,” he said, adding that GDAI is pushing for “gaming carve-outs” within existing schemes such as Startup India and Skill India to fund prototypes and creative-technology apprenticeships.
Nazara Technologies Joint Managing Director and CEO, Nitish Mittersain, said stability is now essential. “A stable and predictable policy framework will be key to driving long-term growth and investor confidence,” he stated, pointing to the need for support across domestic game development, original IP creation, skilling, digital infrastructure, esports, and animation.
Esports, Taxation, and Industry Enablement Expectations From Union Budget 2026
BITKRAFT Ventures partner for India and the UAE, Anuj Tandon, said the Union Budget 2026 should recognize gaming as “a core pillar of the AVGC-XR ecosystem,” calling for tax incentives that attract global studios and upgrade India’s talent pool for export-led development.
Esports stakeholders have stressed execution-focused reforms. NODWIN Gaming Co-Founder and Managing Director, Akshat Rathee, said the sector now needs “fair and differentiated taxation for esports on par with traditional sports,” along with easier access to banking and targeted AVGC funding.
Meanwhile, S8UL Esports Co-Founder and CEO, Animesh Agarwal, added that fiscal support for training infrastructure, grassroots competition, and R&D hubs could strengthen India’s global esports position.
S8UL
Other industry leaders echoed the shift from consumption to creation. Felicity founder and CEO, Anurag Choudhary, said clearer regulation allows studios to focus on “product quality, retention, and sustainable monetization.” Meanwhile, Revenant Esports Founder and CEO, Rohit N Jagasia, said the industry expects “structural recognition and long-term enablement from the government” to support talent development and export-led growth.
Together, industry leaders believe that the Union Budget 2026 can play a defining role in translating regulatory clarity into a globally competitive, creator-driven gaming and esports economy.
