Tencent expands India game developer partnerships

Tencent said on May 15 in New Delhi that it has partnered with India’s Services Export Promotion Council and the Game Developer Association of India to expand game publishing and developer training in the country.

The three-year deal with GDAI, which has 15 state chapters.

This includes a student game jam and trainer development plus support for at least 10 studios and participation in the India Game Developer Conference.

SEPC is a trade body under India’s commerce ministry.

It said the partnership is meant to help Indian studios reach overseas markets through Tencent’s distribution network.

The move comes as India projects demand for 2 million AVGC workers by 2030 and the Union Budget backs a new Indian Institute of Creative Technologies lab network.

🔗 Source: The Economic Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Tencent’s new partnership follows its 2020 app ban setback in India

This deal marks a shift for Tencent after India banned 118 apps tied to China in 2020, including several of its products 1.
India said the apps posed national security risks and sent user data to servers outside the country during rising border tensions with China 2.
Tencent-backed games were hit, including PUBG Mobile. PUBG came from South Korean game company Krafton, while Tencent developed the mobile version that gained a global audience 2.
One banned title, “PUBG Mobile Nordic Map: Livik,” was the highest-grossing app on the list. It had brought in US$39.6 million since its 2018 release, and Tencent shares fell 2% after the ban 1, 3.

Rivals had room to gain after the bans

The ban on apps such as PUBG Mobile and WeChat Work, Tencent’s workplace messaging app, opened space for competitors 4.
Companies behind games like Call of Duty: Warzone could try to win over former PUBG Mobile players. Workplace software groups such as Slack could also target WeChat Work users 4.
Alibaba’s Alipay, the company’s digital payments platform, was also banned. That gave services like Stripe more room to grow in India, where it already had a sizable presence 4.
Tencent’s push to train local game developers is a long-term effort to rebuild its place in India’s gaming market 4.