Pixel P&L: Bengaluru Comic Con Returns, AMD Doubles India Workforce, Kuwait Blocks Roblox

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 4 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

• Comic Con India returns to Bengaluru December 20-21, promising 40,000 square feet of gaming zones and cosplay championships.

• AMD places a massive $400M bet on India, doubling workforce to 10,000 employees. Could the country's booming gaming market benefit?

• Xbox announces its "largest Game Pass investment to date" with 150+ partners.

• Game Developers Conference rebrands as "GDC Festival of Gaming" for 2026, introducing universal passes to boost accessibility.

• Kuwait temporarily blocks Roblox over child safety concerns, joining Turkey, China, and Qatar in restricting the platform. 

Let's get into it.

Comic Con India Returns to Bengaluru

Comic Con India announced its 13th edition will return to Bengaluru on December 20-21 at KTPO, Whitefield.

The two-day event promises to unite cosplayers, gamers, and artists in India's Silicon Valley, featuring the National Cosplay Championship, exclusive merchandise, and immersive gaming arenas. Previous editions have drawn international creators like Ron Marz and Jamal Igle alongside prominent Indian studios including Raj Comics and Amar Chitra Katha.

"Bengaluru Comic Con has its own flavour," said Akshat Rathee, co-founder of NODWIN Gaming. "Only here can you find a coder debugging all week and then showing up on the weekend dressed as Darth Vader."

The event's 40,000-square-foot gaming zone will host daily tournaments and VR experiences, while stand-up comedians and popular streamers are expected to make appearances. Last year's edition featured themed attractions including Superman zones and Minecraft movie booths, drawing enthusiasts from across Karnataka to what organizers describe as a festival woven into the city's culture of innovation.

🚀 On Our Radar: AMD's Bold $400M India Bet

Could India become the secret weapon in the global semiconductor wars? Advanced Micro Devices is betting on it with a massive $400 million expansion that will more than double its Indian workforce to over 10,000 employees by 2028, while keeping the door open for strategic acquisitions.

AMD frames this as part of its push to compete with Nvidia in AI chips, leveraging India's deep engineering talent pool. The company just inaugurated its largest global design center in Bengaluru, where 3,000 engineers will develop next-generation processors for AI workloads and other applications.

What makes this expansion particularly intriguing is the timing with India's exploding gaming market, projected to hit $8.6 billion by 2027. While AMD focuses on AI competition, India's tech-savvy youth are driving unprecedented demand for high-performance gaming processors, creating a massive potential end market right where AMD is building its engineering capabilities.

We're watching whether AMD's India investment becomes more than just an engineering hub. Will this $400 million bet position AMD perfectly to capture both India's gaming boom and challenge Nvidia's AI dominance?

⚡️Quick Bytes

Xbox Makes Record Game Pass Investment Amid Pricing Controversy

Xbox revealed its "largest investment in Game Pass to date" for 2025, signing deals with over 150 partners to expand the subscription service's catalog. ID@Xbox boss Chris Charla said most partners now want future titles on Game Pass. The investment follows controversial 2024 price hikes that drew Federal Trade Commission criticism, though Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's record-breaking launch vindicated the strategy.

Game Developers Conference Rebrands as GDC Festival of Gaming for 2026

The Game Developers Conference is becoming the "GDC Festival of Gaming" for its 2026 edition, March 9-13 in San Francisco. The rebrand reflects industry shifts including tighter budgets and fragmented attention spans. Organizers introduced universal Festival Passes at lower prices to boost accessibility, replacing traditional tiered pricing. The move follows 2025's record 30,000 attendees across 750 sessions.

Kuwait Temporarily Blocks Roblox Over Child Safety Concerns

Kuwait's telecom regulator CITRA temporarily blocked Roblox following complaints about harmful content threatening children's safety. The ban joins similar actions by Turkey, Oman, China, and Qatar. CITRA cited risks including exploitation and unsafe practices, but said the block is temporary pending discussions with Roblox to strengthen child protections and remove harmful content.

⚔️Side Quest

📺 Watch: Stray Studio's Filomina Schwab delivers the liberating insight that "it's just a game" - quality trumps marketing complexity. Her dry wood vs. tiny branch analogy perfectly illustrates why great games catch fire with minimal marketing while weak games burn out despite massive promotion efforts.

🎮 Play: Herdling delivers an emotional journey of bonding with adorable Calicorns while traversing stunning watercolor landscapes. The game masterfully balances relaxation with light herding mechanics, letting you set your own pace. Each creature develops unique personality, creating genuine attachment. Perfect for animal lovers seeking a cozy, memorable adventure that lingers long after completion.

📚 Read: HowToMarketAGame debunks the myth that early exposure hurts game sales, using data-driven examples like Coal LLC's success. The piece demonstrates why indie developers should release demos early and contact content creators immediately, not save marketing efforts for launch. Counterintuitive but compelling advice backed by real Steam analytics.

💡Did You Know

The University of Tennessee is offering the world's first Grand Theft Auto college course! Starting January 20, 2026, "Grand Theft America: U.S. History Since 1980 through the GTA Video Games" will teach four decades of American history through Rockstar's satirical open-world series.

Professor Tore Olsson will use each GTA game as a historical framework - from Vice City Stories (1984) to GTA 5 (2013) - to explore real issues like immigration, inequality, and policing. The class will also analyze events like the 1992 LA riots through San Andreas' storyline.

Students won't need to buy the games; the course uses gameplay footage for analysis. Who says gaming can't be educational?

📜 Quote of the Day

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