It’s no secret that India’s gaming scene has levelled up. Today, more and more people are looking at gaming as a career, and not just a hobby. With millions of gamers trying out different titles every now and then, the playerbase is huge. However, the journey for local studios is still a struggle. Indie developers often face challenges ranging from funding to infrastructure and market fragmentation. Yet every so often, a homegrown title (think, Kamla) breaks through, proving that Indian studios can compete on the global stage, with the right support.
This is where Krafton’s India-focused gaming incubator (KIGI) is there to nurture this potential. The programme offers funding, mentorship, and exposure to young Indian studios ready to take the leap.
Arjuna Studios, a Delhi-based game development company, is one such fledgling gaming studio supported by KIGI and it has recently launched its first multiplayer arena shooter, Gangster Carnival. The game blends fast-paced gameplay with authentic Indian characters and settings. And according to co-founder Salil Gupta, he has the “best gaming team in India” currently and the people there are “experts” in their work.
In an exclusive conversation with Digit, Salil shared the journey of Arjuna Studios in developing a game that feels at home, the challenges that they faced, experience of being a part of KIGI and more. Here are excerpts from the conversation.
For most of us, love for gaming began back in school. After all, there is nothing better than catching up on your favorite titles the moment you are in front of the TV. And for Salil too, his love for gaming began early. And that’s what made him want to contribute to the Indian gaming space.
“I have been into games my entire school life. For instance, I used to play a game called Ragnarok. If you compare the number of hours I spent in school to that MMORPG, most of my time was in that game only,” he recalled.
Talking about how he got into developing games, he said, “I thought that Indian gaming is on the brink of a renaissance and I just wanted to be a part of it. So I met my co-founders and we gelled along. We had the same vision and wanted to contribute meaningfully to the Indian gaming space and take it global.”
Running an indie studio in India is not for the faint-hearted. “Only like 1% of games succeed, 99% don’t. You have to be ready for failure. We came with this mindset that even if it takes five years, 10 years, 20 years… this is what we love doing,” Salil explained. Yet he expressed optimism about India’s gaming future, saying that the industry is “on the brink of a renaissance.”
The early days of Arjuna Studios were also anything but easy. Salil elaborated, “Early stage is always the toughest period. You don’t have a lot of funds, team, or even the idea of what kind of product you want to build. Luckily within six months of starting our venture, we got enrolled into KIGI.”
And KIGI’s support provided funding, guidance, and validation, which allowed the team to concretize their vision and expand. “If you get the right institutional support, I think that can have a major difference in your journey,” he added.
For Arjuna Studios, one of the biggest benefits of being a part of KIGI has been the exposure. Salil elaborated, “For us, the exposure from being a part of KIGI has been immense. We started attending major events, meeting VCs, institutions, and publishers.”
He added, “Beyond that, we received daily mentorship and guidance. Whenever we face a block or need advice, our mentors are always available. We also have access to tools and analytical platforms to help us make informed decisions.”
When asked about one thing that took him by surprise about KIGI, Salil candidly explained, “What surprised me most was the responsiveness and sense of responsibility. In a big company, it is common to email someone and end up waiting a week for a reply. But at KIGI, support is instant. We have a program manager and senior mentors who are always available, which has been a huge help. Even mentally, (it has been a huge help) knowing someone is there supporting you.”
Gangster Carnival had started as a Battle Royale game but the team later shifted and is now calling it an Arena shooter game. What caused this pivot? Salil explained, “Initially we started off as a very casual Battle Royale experience. Generally you see the match length is 25 to 30 minutes, but we wanted to have just like a 7-8 minute match.
“Unfortunately, the KPIs that we received were not overwhelmingly good. So, we tried a pivot and moved on to Team Deathmatch with an arena shooter style gameplay. Luckily, that really took off well and our retention numbers almost doubled.”
Salil also shared that the carnival-themed arena was inspired in part by Korean dramas like Squid Games, but the team ensured it stayed rooted in Indian culture. “There’s an underground underworld group called Kadputli. They host an event… you have to win in that arena to get the cash prize,” he added.
Each character comes with its own backstory. When asked about his personal favourite character from the game, Salil said, “Honestly, my co-founder Manraj and I hold a lot of brainstorming sessions, and every character feels like our own child because we developed them from scratch. It’s hard to choose just one, but I’m particularly fond of the Sardarji character. His style is very unique, and half of our team is from Chandigarh, so whenever we showcase the game there, people go crazy to play this character. Even during our soft launch, when we distributed pamphlets, players really loved the art and world we created.”
He further shared how showcasing true Indian culture in the game would be “the best (thing) in the world.”
In Salil’s words, “Building a real-time multiplayer game is very different from building a single player or turn-based game (example Ludo).”
Explaining the challenges behind building Gangster Carnival, he added, “Getting that whole networking perfect for 10,000 or 50,000 concurrent users is a big task in itself. So the number one hurdle I would say we faced is optimization. When we started making the game, the FPS was coming around 15 to 20 on a normal Rs 10,000 device. Then we slowly kept on building on it and it went on to 30- 40. Now we are achieving more than 50 FPS.
When people play the games they just see the front end – characters, animation, arena and stuff. But what they don’t know is how many tasks are involved at the back end while building a multiplayer game in India with a small team.
Salil, apart from being the co-founder of Arjuna Studios, is also a creator with over a million YouTube subscribers. And this creator side of him has often influenced game decisions. “ I have daily sessions with my co-founder, who is the game director, Manraj, and we brainstorm. We always try to get that creator’s side out there,” he said.
For those aspiring to build games in India, Salil’s advice is simple: “Start with a proper mindset that it’s a long-term journey, have some cushioning and resilience. If you’re passionate about gaming, one day you’ll hit the nail correctly and find success. It’s a process and it’s going to take time, but for sure there is success eventually.”
Thus, gone are the days when gaming was considered just a hobby. Indie studios are here, working day and night to put that Indian flavour into titles that would hopefully be known at the global stage someday. From stories like that of Arjuna Studios and initiatives like KIGI, one thing is clear- the future of Indian gaming looks brighter than ever.