Game Developers Conference (GDC), the annual game development-centric event, is scheduled to start on March 18 in San Francisco, California. More than two months before GDC 2023, we have learned that a gambling company is set to lead the India Pavilion at the event.
WinZO, the company in question, announced its collaboration with the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) to “introduce the first-ever India Pavilion at the Game Developers Conference 2024 in San Francisco, US.”
It’s disturbing that a gambling company is fronting @Official_GDC for Indian game studios. Forget the bar being low, there is no bar. #GDC2024 #GDC #GameDev #India pic.twitter.com/N76qIBt4II
— 0xSkeptic | Cringe Connoisseur (@RishiAlwani) January 12, 2024
The company, which was also the “bronze sponsor” of IGDC 2023, extended invitations to Indian game developers and other companies in the space, urging them to “seize the opportunity to not only showcase your products but also connect with a global audience.” The primary concern arises from the fact that the representation is led by a company specialising in real-money games, commonly known as gambling games, rather than video games.
A visit to WinZO’s website reveals that its “games” consist of casual minigames such as carrom, chess, and basketball. The platform boasts over “100+ games across 6 platforms.” It labels itself as a “safe and secure social gaming platform,” implying that players participate to win money or pay to play.
A clear distinction exists between gambling services like this and traditional video games worldwide. In India, gambling companies have strived to be recognised as gaming companies and associated with actual video games. This prompts questions about the kind of representation the Indian games industry will have on the international stage at GDC when a gambling company leads the event for Indian game studios. As Indian games analyst Rishi Alwani expressed in his post on X / Twitter, “forget the bar being low, there is no bar.”
The Indian games industry still has a long way to go in addressing such issues. The fact that GDC appears to permit a gambling company to represent the Indian games industry is disappointing, to say the least.
IGN India has reached out to both GDC and IGDC for a comment regarding the story and will update this article when we hear back.
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Rayan Sayyed is a staff writer for IGN India with a primary focus on Asian entertainment spanning from anime, manga, games to films and dramas from the East. You can reach out to him at [email protected], or find him on Twitter @rayanaver and Instagram @rayansayyed.