Eight Indian indie video-game studios, chosen from more than 300 applications, pitched original games to a 12-member expert jury drawn from India, South Korea and the United States. This was the scene at the fourth edition of PitchFest by KRAFTON India’s Gaming Incubator (KIGI) as part of the Indian Game Developers Conference 2026 this week.
A far cry from the heavily glamorous triple AA head-to-head fests of North America, the competition at IGDC 2026 was more about the grit—something a nascent developer market such as India needs, and has in plenty.
And it also came down to a practical test of whether Indian studios can turn these marvellous ideas and pre-alpha builds into sellable IPs.
The Indian arm of the PUBG maker also said that the selection favoured teams with playable builds, clear pitch decks and strong founder-team alignment. The shortlisted studios in the fourth cohort were:
- AbhiTechGames
- Arckon Arts
- Team Quasa
- Compiling Shaders Games
- Kalp
- Xigma Games
- Tandoori Pixels
- 2Tellers Studio
Each team got 10 minutes to present its game and gameplay. Then came another 10 minutes of grilling from the jury.
“We are encouraged by the overwhelming response to KIGI PitchFest this year, which received over 300 applications from aspiring game developers within just 30 days of opening applications,” said Anuj Sahani, head of the KRAFTON India Incubator Programme.
KIGI absorbs top picks into their cohort, with KRAFTON India providing them extensive structural backing to scale their project. One such studio from their third cohort was EvolX Studio, turning many a head at IDGC this year with their turn-based roguelike deckbuilder game Ludaro, as well as in gaming circles. Incidentally, Ludaro was also the winner of Upcoming Mobile Game of the Year at the India Game Awards 2026.
KIGI offers funding of $50,000 to $150,000, mentorship and possible routes to publishing or investment for selected projects. This is the kind of list indie studios in India are now looking for.
“It is great to see India’s indie gaming community building momentum, with this year’s shortlisted teams bringing forward games across diverse genres and platforms,” added Sahani.
