Xbox Wants to 'Build on the Potential' They Are Seeing in India - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 16 February 2023 / 3,589 Views
Arjun Varma, the manager at Xbox's Global Expansion Incubator (GXI) team in an interview with GamesIndustry discussed ID@Xbox and the potential growth in India.
"The idea behind GXI is to engage and connect with the local developer community in India," said Varma. "We want to support and enable this ecosystem to find success. We're looking at how we can get these titles published on Xbox in addition to other platforms. The gaming industry has boomed in the last few years and India is a really interesting market for us. There's a lot of cool content coming out and we want to build on the potential that we're seeing."
Microsoft wants to give indie developers in India "the same tools and resources that Microsoft's biggest partners have access to," he added.
Varma stated that giving access indie developers to its tools "will place them on the same footing."
"We're also looking at how we can leverage the ID@Azure program for Indian indie developers," he said. "Once you log in, you'll immediately get about $500 worth of free Azure credit. And when they start their journey, they will have an opportunity to earn up to $5,000 worth of free Azure credits. This will lower the barrier of creating games."
Varma and the GXI team has been meeting with developers of all sizes "to discuss their strengths and gaps. This gives us opportunities to support them as Xbox. From what I've seen, the kind of content in development across genres is really impressive. They've got a lot of potential in terms of narrative and art style. These games would do really well if given the chance."
The GXI team is also focused on localization as there are multiple languages in India and different cultures.
"If they're coming from a different region, they will want to make sure that their messaging and marketing have localization integrated the right way," said Varma. "That's the kind of support we will provide for sure in terms of guidance and mentorship."
The console market is at a "very early and nascent stage," he admitted and the country is a "predominantly mobile market."
The GXI team is looking to expand on the potential and bridge the gap between smartphones and gaming on consoles and PC by the use of cross-platform tools.
"We're telling these devs to include mechanics that enable easy porting from or to consoles and PCs," he stated. "Cross-platform is the right way to go for a market in India. We encourage that and I've been seeing mobile devs include mechanics that simplify the porting process to consoles and PCs."
Varma also open about the adoption of Game Pass in India and what it could mean for developers who are looking to work with Xbox
"Once they have a concept/demo and start interacting with us, there's a chance to publish it on Xbox Game Pass right from day one," Varma said. "Depending on how the game is received and how it is in terms of enjoyability and replayability, further consideration will be given in terms of Game Pass."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
