Pride of India

Indie Gaming Utsav shows the growth of development in an up-and-coming region

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Utsav is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for celebration, and also the term that Avichal Singh and Akshat Rathee have decided should apply to India's indie gaming scene. As a developer, Singh understands the challenges of producing and selling an indie game in India: the co-founder of Nodding Heads Games achieved a rare breakout hit in 2020 with Raji: An Ancient Epic. From there, in 2021 he began working with Rathee on a Steam festival showcasing Indian games. But with Rathee as CEO of Nodwin Gaming, an esports company that acquired Comic Con India in 2024, there was scope to do more. “A few months ago, I texted Akshat,” Singh says. “'Hey, I want to benefit indies - bring all of them under one umbrella'. Akshat said, 'Let's get into Comic Con', and we never looked back.”