Level Up

Conference

The Level Up Conference at GamingCon brings together leading creators in gaming to share their insights to an audience of industry peers, students and gaming enthusiasts. From game developers and publishers to content creators and esports professionals, the Level Up Conference is all about breaking in and making it big in India’s booming games industry.
Get ready for Level Up 2025, 29-30 Nov, Mumbai.

Gamings Brightest Minds, One Stage. Don’t Miss Out – Register Today!

DAY 1

Focused on the evolution of gaming in India, the rise of homegrown IPs, the booming esports ecosystem, and the journey from gamer to content creator. Ubisoft gave fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their world-building magic.

DAY 2

Dove deep into crafting immersive gaming experiences, education pathways into the industry, and exciting intersections of music and games — spotlighting collaborations that are shaping the cultural fabric of gaming. From aspiring developers to seasoned professionals, the Level Up Conference proved to be a space where innovation met opportunity.

Agenda

DAY 1
DAY 2

12:00 PM- 12:05 PM Welcome Address:

speakers

Vikas Vij, Managing Director, IDEX Events & Founder, GamingCon Bharat

12:05 PM- 12:10 PM Welcome Address:

speakers

Vishal Gondal, Co-founder, nCore Global

12:10 PM- 12:20 PM Powering India’s Gaming Future: Maharashtra’s Blueprint for a Global Hub

speakers

Kaustubh Dhavse, Chief Advisor (Investments & Strategy),
Government of Maharashtra

12:25 PM- 12:35 PM KEYNOTE ADDRESS:

speakers

Dr. P. Anbalagan, IAS Secretary,Industries Department,
Government of Maharashtra

12:45 PM- 12:55 PM Gaming in India – The Next Decade

speakers

Anupriya Sinha Das, Head-Corporate Development, Nazara
Technologies

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Shaping Play: India’s Gaming Policy and the Road Ahead

How will the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 influence the future of India’s gaming and esports ecosystem?

Moderator:

Rohan Mayya, CEO & Founder, Aeos Games

speakers

Dr. P. Anbalagan, IAS Secretary,Industries Department, Government of Maharashtra
Deepak MV, Head of Strategy, Nazara Technologies
Kaustubh Dhavse, Chief Advisor (Investments & Strategy), Government of Maharashtra
Narinder Kapur, Senior Analyst & Global Business Development, Niko Partners
Vishal Gondal, Co-founder, nCore Global

2:00 PM to 2:45 PMIndia Plays On: Player and Industry Trends

Big-picture view of India’s gaming momentum: rising studios, expanding audiences, mobile dominance, and the rise of consoles and PC among Gen Z. Where are we headed in 2026 and beyond?

Moderator:

Sameer Desai, Gaming Industry Consultant

speakers

Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Vice President & Business Head, Whistling Woods International
Ninad Chhaya, Senior VP Corporate Development, Reliance Games
Vishal Parekh, CEO, CyberPower PC

2:45 PM to 3:30 PMNetworking Break

3:30 PM to 4:15 PM Play Smarter: How AI and Emerging Technologies are changing Games and Gamers

From smarter NPCs to generative art to player coaching — AI is reshaping how games are made and played. What should creators and players know (and worry about)?

Moderator:

Rohan Mayya, CEO & Co-founder, Aeos Games

speakers

Meenal Majumder, Founder, The Innovation Story
Sameer Pitalwalla, Head of Gaming, Google Cloud (APAC)
Trupti Latur, Head of Growth, Jio Games

4:15 PM to 5:00 PM Solo, Small, Scalable: The New Indie Game Era

How solo devs and tiny teams are creating beautiful, experimental, or fun games on limited resources. And how they’re finding players. The building blocks for the Indian gaming ecosystem builds up!

Moderator:

Sameer Desai, Gaming Industry Consultant

speakers

Ahad Oomerbhoy, Founder & Studio Head, Singular Scheme
Ashish Daga, Founder, Psypher Interactive
Himanshu Gupta, Co-founder, Astrode Studio
Sumit Batheja, Co-founder, Ginger Games

5:00 PM to 5:30 PM From Book to Console: The Art of Transmedia Storytelling

Moderator:

Nihal Ranjit, Host, Brut Media

speakers

Amish Tripathi, Author, The Shiva Trilogy & Co-founder, Tara Gaming
Mukul Deora, Producer, The White Tiger, and Board Member and Transmedia Producer, Tara Gaming
Nouredine Abboud, CEO, Novaquark & Co-founder, Tara Gaming

12:00 PM to 12:45 PMEsports Nation: Is India Ready for the Big Leagues?

Is India’s esports ecosystem maturing? From orgs to players to fans, this session explores what needs to evolve to support long-term competitive careers.

MODERATOR

Saarthak Lal, TV Presenter | Multi-Sports Commentator

speakers

Charlie Cowdrey, CEO, JioBlast
Jai Shah, Owner, Team Orangutan, ApeLabs and ApeCity
Karthik Sabherwal, Founder, Upthrust Esports

12:45 PM to 1:30 PM Funding and Monetization in the India Opportunity

With budgets for video games soaring, epitomised by the long-awaited release of GTA 6 at a rumoured $2bn, how do investors make sense of the gaming industry, driving ROI and wealth creation for the stakeholders involved?
And what do they look for in studios developing games whether indies or the bigger publishers? Here we get to grips with the money game behind video games.

Moderator:

Narinder Kapur, Senior Analyst & Global Business Development, Niko Partners

speakers

Abhir Das, Co-Founder, PlaySuper
Aditya Deshpande, VP, Lumikai Fund
Danesh Chothia, Chief Executive Officer, The Helium Wars
Krish Anurag, Managing Partner, Chimera Venture Capital
Tomoharu Urabe, Managing Director, Investment (India) Mixi Global
Investments

1:30 PM to 2:15 PMMake in India (BHARAT): From India to Going Global

It’s an old discussion about building out a AAA game from India but with the ecosystem developing and now in the Government’s main vision, is the time finally here for India to become a serious game development hub? Learn from companies that took games made in India and made them successful globally. What do successful Indian games get right. Creators of standout titles dissect what clicked, what flopped and what’s next

MODERATOR

Sanjay Soni, GM – Tech, Nazara Technologies

speakers

Damini Pahwa, Co-founder, Appsoleut Coders
Roby John, CEO & Co-founder, Super Gaming
Srinivasan Veeraraghavan, Co-founder, Dot9 Games

2:15 PM to 2:45 PMLunch Break and Networking

2:45 PM to 3:30 PM Game Jobs Unplugged: Roles You Didn’t Know Existed

Not every gaming job is about dev or streaming. Explore real-world roles in publishing, testing, marketing, localisation, and game events – with advice on breaking in. The skills and education you need to know to get a head start.

MODERATOR

Akash Menon, Head of Gaming, Tulsea

speakers

Jaydev Dhakan, H.O.D – Game Design, Whistling Woods International
Kaval Bombra, President and Co-founder, nCore Global
Vaibhav Chavan, Founder and CEO, underDOGS

3:30 PM to 4:15 PM Scaling Systems and Adaptations: Extending Wildlife Frameworks for Large Sea Monsters

Dive into the craft behind turning sea creatures into terrifying monsters of Skull And Bones.
Meet the dev team that pushes the boundaries of legacy technology, expanding on systems originally designed for sea animals to create high-stakes immersive monster encounters that are brutal and unpredictable.

speakers

Abhishek Vaidyanathan, Senior Associate Producer, Ubisoft India
Aakash Sai, Game Designer, Ubisoft India