Maharashtra’s New AVGC-XR Policy Introduced

GamingCon Bharat 2025’s opening day at NESCO, Goregaon, served as a launchpad for the Maharashtra government’s newly approved AVGC-XR policy, promising a ₹50K Cr. (~ $600.7B) investment and five lakh job opportunities. The two days opened in Mumbai on Nov. 29, unveiling policy commitments and industry-building initiatives aimed at positioning India as a global game development hub, marking a shift away from its consumer base.

Founder of GamingCon Bharat and IDEX Events’ Managing Director, Vikas Vij, noted, “We make up nearly 20% of global gamers but barely 1.1% of global revenue,” highlighting that, even after housing 591M gamers, domestic studios contribute minimally to globally recognized IP. He further notes that India needs better technical infrastructure and investment to make the studios confident enough to create AAA titles. 

To tackle this, Maharashtra’s new policy builds on a state-backed policy framework and industry convention, to bring “India’s next major gaming IP… from Maharashtra.” The policy promises production incentives, dedicated development clusters, and expanded skill-training programs for gaming, animation, VFX, and XR creators.

A Path to a Development-First Ecosystem

According to the Free Press Journal’s reporting, industry leaders aim to turn India from a gaming nation to a game-production nation. Maharashtra Government’s Secretary of Industries Department, Dr. P. Anbalagan, noted that with planned “AVGC parks in Mumbai and Pune, Centers of Excellence across the state, and short-term skill centers,” Maharashtra has taken the first step in this direction. 

The state committed to strengthening professional and school-level game design courses, building on national moves to integrate AVGC-XR curricula. Representative of Whistling Woods International, Chaitanya Chinchilkar, emphasized the need for including “design, art, mechanics, and coding” courses within school curricula to make students interested in creating games instead of just playing them.

According to Dr. Anbalagan, the state is further planning to facilitate new “animation studios, AI-enabled production, and a new Indian Institute of Creative Technology inside Film City.”

Another significance of Maharashtra's new AVGC-XR policy is the stress on AAA titles instead of mobile games. Industry veteran Vishal Gondal highlighted, none of India-produced games fall under the global top ten list, a list dominated by premium AAA games. With a vision to produce AAA titles rooted in the Indian background and creating “homegrown IPs,” the policy signals that India’s gaming industry is entering a new stage.

India’s media and entertainment sector is being positioned as a “sunrise industry” due to the recent global recognition in the sector. From Raji: An Ancient Epic’s global recognition, indie games like Detective Dotson getting Steam releases, and an Indian animated feature, Mahavatar Narshimha, getting consideration for the Oscars 2026, the industry is growing with a projected revenue of $100B by 2030.

States like Maharashtra coming forward with renewed focus at such a time could be beneficial for accelerating the growth of not only the gaming market, but the whole media and entertainment industry.