India's VFX studio boom, Online Gaming Bill passage, and Disney's AI pivot define a landmark week for AVGC-XR
If there is a single throughline to this week's news, it is infrastructure — physical, regulatory, and institutional. The cluster of international VFX studios choosing Indian cities is no longer a trickle: Netflix's 30,000-square-foot Hyderabad hub, Rodeo FX's new India studio, Digital Domain's Hyderabad facility, and Ghost VFX's incoming Pune outpost arriving in the same news cycle is a meaningful signal that global post-production is restructuring its geography around Indian talent and cost advantages. Hyderabad in particular is consolidating its position as the preferred destination, which has implications for workforce demand, real-estate, and local vendor ecosystems. On the policy front, the passage of the Online Gaming Bill 2025 is the most consequential regulatory development the sector has seen in years, and it arrives alongside a Union Budget explicitly acknowledging the Orange Economy. These are not symbolic gestures; they create the legal scaffolding within which investment decisions are made. Disney's appointment of a Character.AI chief executive as its inaugural CTO is the clearest sign yet from a major studio that AI is being treated as a infrastructure-level concern, not a production tool. Combined with SS Rajamouli's reported AI production collaboration, the industry is being reshaped from both the top and the bottom simultaneously. Meanwhile, IICT's scholarships with Netflix and its diplomatic missions to South Korea and Japan suggest India's talent pipeline is being deliberately internationalised — which is exactly what sustained studio investment will eventually demand.
From our desk
- AnalysisMaharashtra's ₹3,266-crore AVGC-XR policy allocates ₹100 crore this year and sets no per-project rate; Rajasthan reimburses up to 30 per cent, Karnataka 20
Maharashtra allocates ₹100 crore of a ₹3,266-crore outlay in 2025-26 [2], and its Government Resolution sets no per-project reimbursement rate [5]. Rajasthan pays up to 30 per cent of qualified expenditure, capped at ₹50 lakh per entity [7]. Karnataka pays up to 20 per cent, capped per episode [13].
By AVGC-XR Desk
- AnalysisIndia's online gaming law: registration reaches only e-sports and categories the Centre notifies, and in late June there was no portal to file one
The Act and the 2026 Rules took effect on 1 May 2026 [12][13]. Registration applies only where the government mandates it or a game is offered as an e-sport [14]. MediaNama and ThePrint reported on 25 June that the registration form existed with no portal to file it [28][29].
By AVGC-XR Desk
This week on the wire
- Netflix to open Hyderabad VFX and post-production hub
A 30,000-square-foot Netflix hub dedicated to VFX and virtual production in Hyderabad represents the most significant single facility commitment by a streaming platform to India's post-production sector to date.
- Prime Minister welcomes passage of Online Gaming Bill 2025
The Online Gaming Bill 2025 creates the legal framework that serious domestic and foreign gaming investment has been waiting on, making it the most consequential regulatory event for the sector in years.
- Disney Appoints Karandeep Anand as First Chief Technology Officer
Hiring a generative AI company CEO as Disney's first-ever CTO signals that the world's largest entertainment brand is treating AI as core infrastructure, not an experimental add-on — a posture that will cascade through vendor and co-production relationships globally.
- Rodeo FX launches India studio as VFX expansion continues
Rodeo FX's India studio launch, following its work on prestige titles like Dune, adds further evidence that Tier-1 international VFX houses now view an Indian presence as operationally necessary rather than opportunistic.
- Digital Domain to set up facilities in Hyderabad
Digital Domain's Hyderabad entry further concentrates high-end VFX capability in one city, raising questions about whether Hyderabad is becoming India's dominant VFX hub in the way Mumbai anchors live-action production.
- Ghost VFX to open new studio in Pune with Prashant Shitole as head
Ghost VFX opening in Pune diversifies the geographic spread of international VFX investment beyond Hyderabad, which matters for regional talent development and reduces concentration risk.
- IICT joins MIB delegation to South Korea and Japan to boost AVGC-XR ties
IICT travelling with an MIB delegation to South Korea and Japan to formalise AVGC-XR ties indicates that India's creative economy diplomacy is moving from bilateral statements to active institutional engagement.
- IICT and Netflix announce scholarships for 100 students across six AVGC-XR programmes
Netflix co-funding 100 IICT scholarships across six AVGC-XR disciplines is a direct investment in the talent pipeline that its own Hyderabad facility will eventually draw from.
- ReDefine and DNEG create 3,500 VFX shots for Fighter aerial sequences
3,500 VFX shots delivered by ReDefine and DNEG for Fighter's aerial sequences demonstrates that Indian-rooted studios can handle technically demanding, large-scale VFX work for domestic blockbusters at a world-class level.
- Hanuman Ansh expands into gaming with three titles from nCore Games
The Hanuman Ansh gaming partnership with nCore Games is a model worth watching — IP-led expansion into interactive entertainment using an established mythological property could become a template for Indian content owners.
- India levels up: Real-money gaming ban unlocked $7.7B opportunity
A $7.7 billion opportunity attributed to shifting away from real-money gaming is a striking reframing that positions skill-based and entertainment gaming as the primary growth driver rather than gambling adjacency.
- Xilam secures presales for Oggy, Zig & Sharko and Chickies ahead of MIPCOM
JioStar's presale of two new Zig & Sharko seasons from Xilam is a quiet but meaningful sign of Indian streamers actively acquiring international animation rights ahead of MIPCOM, reflecting growing confidence in animated content on Indian platforms.