Gaming
dentsu’s GEM awards: Gaming, e-sports and metaverse shine all the way through
Mumbai: In a star-studded event held at The Lalit, Mumbai, on 2 December, dentsu Gaming in partnership with Animation Xpress launched The Gem Awards to honour excellence throughout the gaming, e-sports, and metaverse industries. These awards are to celebrate the talents that influence and advance the medium and culture of gaming and technology. In addition to games and e-sports, the GEM Awards will also recognise the individuals and organisations that changed digital culture and had a positive social impact through the invention of ground-breaking Web3 applications, NFTs, and metaverses.
For the first edition of The Gem Awards, the jury members included an interesting mix from the e-sports, gaming, and digital industry – Indiantelevison.com Group founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil NM Wanvari, Penta E-Sports founder & CEO Anurag Khurana, Guardian Link co-founder & chief technology officer Arjun Reddy, Punnaryug Artvision founder & AVGC Forum – FICCI chairman Ashish Kulkarni, Holy Cow Productions founder & director Goutham Dindukurthi, SuperGaming communications manager and writer Rishi Alwani and Sharmilee Daru PR and 4WD Gaming founder Sharmilee Daru.
Gaurav Gambhir aka D-Cypher of Gully Boy fame also performed magnificently at the event. We all know him as the beatboxer in Gully Boy’s ‘Asli Hip Hop’ and ‘ Jingostan Beatbox’; he is a well-recognised name in the underground hip-hop community, a celebrity beatbox trainer and a part of Mumbai-based hip hop collective, Bombay Lokal.
In the category of gaming genres, which had four sub-categories, the best casual game was put in place by Playbae called In My Shadow; the best hyper casual game was prepared by Weloadin Studio for Dessert DIY; the best midcore game was awarded to Zatun for its project Down and Out; and the award for the best hardcore game was given to Voidpeak Games Pvt. Ltd.
The technical category had four sub-categories. The best gaming promo was prepared by Wayu Digital Studio for its project Mukti, and by GameEon Studios for its task on Mumbai Gullies; the best game direction was done by Lucid Labs for Possessions; the best art direction was executed by Xigma Games for The Bonfire 2 Uncharted Shores; and the best score/music was put in place by AbracaDabra Software Solutions for Tanhaji – The Maratha Warrior, and Frostwood Interactive for Forgotten Fields.
The special awards category had several sub-categories. The gaming studio of the year was XSQUADS Tech Private Limited; the best gaming institutes were ICAT and Chitkari; the best male gaming content creator of the year (jury base) was Mortal; the best female gaming content creators of the year (jury base) were Savage Girl and Payal Dhare (Payal Gaming); the best male gaming content creator of the year (fan base) was Scout; the best female gaming content creator of the year (fan base) was Kaash Plays; the upcoming game of the year (Indie) was by Ogre Head Studio for Yodha; the best Indie gaming studio of the year was Xigma Games; the best brand integration was executed by Creative Galileo for Creative Galileo Kids Early Learning App; the best brand game collaboration was by Reliance Games (Zapak Games) for Little Singham Tide Turners Plastic Challenge; the best use of gamification by brand in a campaign was done by Creative Galileo for Creative Galileo Kids Early Learning App; the best e-sports brand collaboration was by 7Sea Esports for Gillette X 7Sea Invitational.
The popular e-sports title (PC) was awarded to Riot Games; the popular e-sports title (mobile) was The Pokémon Company. The best influencer agencies were 8Bit Creatives and Trinity Gaming India.
The powering the ecosystem: special mention awards category had various sub-categories. The best movers & shakers investors: (early stage) were Jet Synthesys; the best movers & shakers investors (late stage) were Lumikai; the best gaming ambassador of the year was Jonathan “Jonathan” Amaral for Gillette Get Your Game Face On; the best mover & shaker government entities was the Telangana government; the best movers & shakers gaming were Gameberry Labs.
The e-sports category, too, had numerous sub-categories. The best players include Harsh “Goblin” Paudwal (SouLGobLiN) and Ganesh “SkRossi” Gangadhar. The best teams include Global Esports. The best production was executed by NODWIN Gaming for Battlegrounds Mobile India Master Series 2022. The best tournaments were put in place by 7Sea Esports for Gillette 7Sea Invitational, and Skyesports for Skyesports Champions Series. The best broadcast platform was LOCO. The best coach was Rahul ‘Osmium’ Sharma for 7Sea Esports. The best organiser was Skyesports. The best shoutcasters were MambaSR and Spero-Piyush. The best commercial was NODWIN Gaming for Battlegrounds Mobile India Master Series 2022. The best indigenous sports game of the year was put in place by Nautilus Mobile for Real Cricket.
The Meta Awards category had six sub-categories. The best debut in the metaverse was by Immersive Gamitronics Studios Pvt Ltd for Partynite – India का अपना Metaverse. The best avatar design was put in place by Metapolis for M-Genesis. The best innovative NFT project was by STAN for Esports Athletes & Gaming Creators. The best metaverse project was by Immersive Gamitronics Studios Pvt Ltd for Partynite – India का अपना Metaverse. The best blockchain-based game was made by SuperGaming for Tower Conquest (web3 game) and was also awarded to the game – Born To Die. The best web3 start-up was Indi.gg.
The coveted partners for this event, which was initiated by AnimationExpress.com and executed by ITV2.0 Productions, were dentsu Gaming (the event’s presenting partner), Rockstar Games (an associate partner), Metapolis (a technology partner), Zapak and Reliance Games (industry partners), and BenQ (a support partner).
Gaming
IICT signs three MoUs to boost AVGC-XR and esports
Partnerships with Zenfluencers, Yologram and Eruditio at Chennai Gaming Show 2026 strengthen education, XR innovation and nationwide talent outreach.
MUMBAI: IICT has just levelled up the game in a big way. The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies signed three strategic Memorandums of Understanding on 17 April 2026 at the CII Summit FX – India Gaming Show in Chennai, forging alliances with The Zenfluencers, Yologram Style Pvt. Ltd. and Eruditio Consultants to accelerate India’s AVGC-XR ecosystem.
The tie-ups combine IICT’s strengths in education, skilling and research with specialist expertise across esports, immersive technologies and large-scale outreach.
- With The Zenfluencers, IICT will roll out globally benchmarked esports programmes, including joint certification courses, industry workshops, tournaments and masterclasses, creating clear career pathways across the full esports value chain.
- The partnership with Yologram Style Pvt. Ltd. focuses on gaming, immersive storytelling and extended reality (XR), delivering industry-aligned curriculum, faculty mentorship, student showcases and collaborative research in immersive AI and virtual production.
- Collaboration with Eruditio Consultants targets awareness, accessibility and career alignment, with nationwide counsellor training, institutional engagement and structured guidance frameworks to reach students beyond Tier-1 cities.
IICT CEO Vishwas Deoskar said, “As the AVGC-XR sector evolves at a rapid pace, strong collaborations between industry and academia are essential. These partnerships will create meaningful impact across education, innovation and outreach.”
Yologram Style Pvt. Ltd. founder Aditya Mani added, “AI-driven creator worlds are transforming games into engines of culture, commerce and careers. Together we aim to empower a generation to build immersive futures.”
Eruditio Consultants founder Indrajit Ghosh noted, “This is not just about awareness, it is about building a structured ecosystem that connects aspiration with opportunity.”
The Zenfluencers CEO Atharva Gupta said, “This MoU is a big unlock moment for the esports ecosystem in India. We’re building a structured pipeline for talent across the full stack.”
By bringing together academia, industry leaders and ecosystem players, IICT is creating scalable models that blend cutting-edge skills with real-world relevance. In a sector racing toward the future, these three partnerships ensure India’s next generation of creative technologists won’t just keep up, they’ll set the pace.
