Report: Indian Game Outsourcing Prices Explored

A new report by the Economic Times newspaper has given intriguing details on the Indian outsourcing industry related to video games, talking to specific companies about salaries and possible cost savings for developing games or game elements outside the U.S. or Europe. According to the report, Salil Bhargava, chief marketing officer at Paradox Studios, a Mumbai-based video game development company that creates animation for three to four different U.S. game publishers, commented that the cost of developing a game for a home console or PC outside of India is $10 to $13 million, but that a similar game can be developed in India for a quarter of that cost, a significant saving. Vishal Gondal, founder and director, Indiagames, was quoted by the report as saying: "We test candidates to check their analytical and creative skills as these are very important for any game developer. Based on such skills, an entrant in this industry can start from Rs 8,000 ($176) a month and can go up to Rs 15,000 ($330), while an experienced developer can earn as much as Rs 60,000 ($1,320) monthly.” The Economic Times report indicates that a major roadblock for the creative outsourcing model is a lack of a local partner in the foreign markets in light of stiff competition from other markets such as China, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Canada, Ukraine and Russia. However, some firms, such as India-based Hurix Systems, are expanding, and opening up centers in the U.S.