Tencent announced a multi-year commitment to drive the development of India’s Orange Economy, backed by an initial commitment of over ₹100 million in resources and programmes spanning curriculum development, industry training, and mentorship. This marks the beginning of the company’s long-term collaboration with the country’s gaming and AVGC sector.
Aligned with India’s national ambition to train and employ two million skilled professionals in the AVGC-XR sector by 2030, Tencent signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) to advance the country’s AVGC ecosystem and strengthen India’s position as a global hub for services exports in the sector.
Tencent and the Game Developers Association of India (GDAI) also signed a strategic MoU to strengthen India’s gaming talent pipeline through grassroots developer engagement, industry-led skilling, mentorship, and hands-on learning initiatives. By creating structured pathways for aspiring developers, creators, and studios, the partnership seeks to accelerate the growth of a globally competitive gaming ecosystem built in India, for the world.
This announcement was made at “Tencent | Building India’s Orange Economy Together”, an inaugural event bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, AVGC institutions, and gaming ecosystem pioneers to discuss how to strengthen India’s ambitions to become a global hub for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC).
The event convened senior government representatives, including Guest-of-Honour, Dr. Abhay Sinha, Director General, SEPC, Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MOCI) alongside industry leaders from across India’s AVGC ecosystem.
During the event’s opening address, Mr. Danny Marti, Head of Public Policy and Global Affairs, Tencent shared, “Our goal goes beyond investing in programmes. We want to work with local partners to build practical pathways for talent, creators, and studios. By combining India’s creative strengths with Tencent’s expertise, we hope to support a more connected and globally competitive AVGC ecosystem.”
Strengthening India’s AVGC Talent Pipeline
Under a three-year MoU, Tencent will work with SEPC to strengthen national capacity building, facilitate industry dialogue, and support Indian AVGC companies in accessing international value chains.
Dr. Sinha added, “The AVGC sector is an important driver of India’s services exports and creative competitiveness. Our future potential collaborations with Tencent will aim to help strengthen industry capabilities and offer more opportunities for Indian companies and professionals in the international market.”
Building Stronger Pathways for India’s Game Development Community
Tencent has also signed a three-year MoU with GDAI focused on grassroots developer engagement, including a National Game Jam targeting over 10,000 students annually, Train-the-Trainer programmes reaching educators across colleges, and participation in the Indian Game Developers Conference (IGDC). The collaboration aims to bridge the gap between emerging talent and industry opportunity, while advancing GDAI’s larger vision of positioning India as a global hub for game development and interactive entertainment.
“India is at a defining moment in its gaming journey, with the opportunity to emerge as a global hub for game development and interactive entertainment. Through this partnership with Tencent, we aim to strengthen the talent pipeline through grassroots skilling, mentorship, and deeper developer engagement. Building globally competitive gaming talent from India will be key to shaping the next phase of the country’s digital and creative economy,” said Ms. Shruti Verma, CEO, GDAI.
India’s Gaming Moment: From Market Scale to Global Stage
According to Niko Partners, India is the fastest growing market in Asia & MENA, and forecast shows the market will reach $1.5 billion in player spending by 2028 and 724 million gamers by 2029.
Against this backdrop, the event brought together a cross-section of India’s gaming and creative technology community, drawing senior voices from the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Esports Federation of India (ESFI), NODWIN Gaming, and other key ecosystem players, alongside Tencent’s global leadership.
The keynote panel titled “Charting Pathways to the Global Gaming Industry: Talent, Ecosystem and Public–Private Collaboration”, mapped out what meaningful public-private collaboration should look like to build credible career pathways for India’s youth, and position the country as a hub for interactive entertainment for international audiences.
A second panel titled “Taking India to the Global Stage: Unlocking Growth across Content and Communities through Esports” explored the interplay between grassroots community building, workforce development, and the governance structures needed to put Indian esports and developers on the global stage.
Supporting a Long-Term Ecosystem Approach
Beyond the two MoUs, Tencent will explore partnership opportunities with broader local institutions to further strengthen the AVGC ecosystem, spanning internships, professional exposure, and knowledge exchange.
Through the launch of global gaming titles such as Honor of Kings in India, Tencent is also bringing high-quality interactive entertainment experiences to Indian players, while contributing to the development of the local gaming, esports, and content creator communities.
India’s Orange Economy is entering a new stage of growth, driven by its young talent base, expanding digital infrastructure, and strong creative industries. Tencent is focused on contributing to this momentum through locally relevant partnerships to help Indian creative talent connect with global opportunities.
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