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FremantleMedia, Deep Silver to make console game for ‘The X-Factor’
MUMBAI: Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, has announced an agreement with FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) to produce a multi-territory console game based on the talent show The X Factor.
With versions for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii and PlayStation 3, the game will be available from Q4 2010 in multiple languages in numerous European territories where the show is made including the UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The game will look to capture the excitement and entertainment of the TV show and will include auditions, boot camp and judges’ houses levels as well as several game modes from individual career to duets and battles so family and friends can all enjoy together.
Deep Silver International Marketing Director Georg Larch says, “To be able to work with a phenomenal brand such as The X Factor is an incredible opportunity. The X Factor is a truly global brand which is instantly recognisable to thousands of gamers and TV fans around the world. With the developer, Hydravision Entertainment, Deep Silver will be creating a game that is a true adaptation of the show from the hilarity of the auditions to the excitement of the live show; we will be testing the singing skills of the player and will feature the sharp critique of the judges.”
FME executive VP licensing Europe, Middle East and Africa Mark Newton says, “The X Factor has proven a massive global success with local versions being produced now in more than 20 countries including France, Belgium, Denmark and more, and through FME’s global network we can take advantage of market opportunities and give fans even more ways to engage with the brand on different platforms. We needed partners with the same multi-territory approach and commitment to quality, so Hydravision and Deep Silver were a natural choice.”
The first series of The X Factor, coproduced by FremantleMedia company talkbackThames and Simon Cowell’s Syco TV, began in September 2004 in the UK.
A panel of expert judges from the music industry preside over initial auditions, with audience votes coming into play during the later live shows featuring the selected contestants in four distinct categories, one assigned to each of the four judges (14-24 year old boys, 14-24 year old girls, over 25s and groups).
The X Factor is open to all ages, styles, solo acts or groups. And the performers aren’t the only ones competing – it’s judge versus judge, artist versus artist. The format has been sold in over 20 countries.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
