Pixel P&L: Bollywood Gaming Partnership, Indian Chess Success, Konami FIFA Extension

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:

• Bollywood action director Vicky Arora joins Indian gaming studio to design combat sequences, marking a major crossover between India's film and gaming industries.

• Indian chess grandmaster Nihal Sarin pulls off a stunning comeback to qualify for the Esports World Cup 2025, becoming the sole Indian to advance.

• Riot Games announces the League of Legends World Championship 2025 will culminate at China's massive 18,000-seat arena this November.

• Konami extends its FIFA esports partnership through 2026, with the FIFAe World Cup heading to Saudi Arabia this December.

• Gaming giant Konami partners with Gadsme for in-game advertising integration as the industry shifts toward immersive ad models. 

Let's get into it.

Bollywood Action Director Joins Indian Gaming Studio

Indian gaming studio Shortgun Games has hired Bollywood action director Vicky Arora to design combat sequences for its upcoming third-person shooter, as the country's entertainment industries increasingly overlap.

Arora, known for directing action in films including "URI: The Surgical Strike," "RRR," and the upcoming "Ramayan Part 1," will oversee the game's action design from concept to final implementation using motion capture technology.

The appointment highlights efforts by Indian gaming companies to compete with global studios by recruiting talent from the country's established film industry. Shortgun Games was founded by the team behind "Rogue Heist" and is developing narrative-driven games for PC and console platforms.

"This collaboration reflects a larger shift happening across India's digital entertainment," said Jeet Chandan, Shortgun's managing director, citing blurred lines between film and gaming sectors.

Arora also serves as general secretary of the Screen Action Association of India, where he promotes safety standards for stunt performers. His film experience with motion capture work on "Ramayan Part 1" informed his approach to game development, the studio said.

The project remains in development with no announced release date.

Indian Chess Grandmaster Qualifies for Esports World Cup

Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin secured one of four qualifying spots for the Esports World Cup 2025 chess tournament after a stunning performance in last-chance qualifiers, becoming the sole Indian to advance through the preliminary rounds.

The 21-year-old, representing S8UL Esports, orchestrated a remarkable turnaround against Belarus' Denis Lazavik in elimination play, delivering a checkmate from a losing position. He followed with victories over Dutch star Anish Giri and Russia's Andrey Esipenko to clinch qualification.

Sarin joins a 16-player field including Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura at the Riyadh tournament beginning July 29, competing for a $1.5 million prize pool. Currently ranked 37th globally with a 2692 FIDE rating, he represents S8UL, the only Indian organization selected for the event's Club Partner Program.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Konami Extends FIFA Esports Partnership Through 2026

Konami Digital Entertainment will continue its partnership with FIFA to promote football esports through FIFAe competitions in 2025 and 2026. The FIFAe World Cup featuring Konami's eFootball will be held in Saudi Arabia this December, with organizers expecting increased participation from the 14 million players across 18 nations who competed in 2024. Financial terms weren't disclosed. The announcement came during Konami's eFootball World Festival celebrating the franchise's 30th anniversary.

Riot Games Sets China Venues for League of Legends World Championship

Riot Games will hold the League of Legends World Championship 2025 grand finals at Chengdu's 18,000-seat Dong'an Lake Sports Park Arena on November 9. The tournament runs October 14-November 9 across three Chinese cities, with early rounds in Beijing and knockout stages in Shanghai. The event represents esports' largest annual competition, drawing millions of global viewers to what industry executives consider gaming's equivalent of the Super Bowl.

Konami Partners with Gadsme for In-Game Advertising Integration

Gaming giant Konami has signed a publisher agreement with advertising platform Gadsme to integrate premium in-game ads into its mobile titles. Gadsme's cross-platform SDK aims to deliver advertising without disrupting gameplay continuity for players and esports audiences. The partnership reflects growing industry interest in immersive advertising models as traditional digital marketing faces increasing headwinds. Gadsme claims partnerships with studios including Ubisoft across 1,500 games.

⚔️Side Quest

📺 Listen: Playing With Inference’s latest episode cuts through AI hype to examine generative AI's realistic impact on gaming. The hosts explore two key applications: streamlining development workflows and creating entirely new game genres. They argue that widespread adoption hinges on AI integration into core engines like Unreal and Unity, rather than standalone tools. The discussion emphasizes designer-led innovation over tech-driven approaches, drawing lessons from failed metaverse and cloud gaming pushes.

🎮 Play: Hell Clock delivers a compelling fusion of isometric ARPG action and bullet hell intensity, featuring Path of Exile-level build complexity. While the overwhelming customization options and Act 2 difficulty spike may frustrate newcomers, persistent players will discover a rewarding progression system. At INR 880 ($20), it's a solid investment for fans of deep character building, though some mechanics need clearer explanations.

📚 Read: Magify CEO Evgeniy Kurenkov argues that emerging studios fail not due to high user acquisition costs, but because they lack sophisticated analytics and data-driven decision making. He contends that modern mobile gaming success requires treating studios as "systems operators" rather than content creators, emphasizing the critical balance between customer acquisition cost and lifetime value through robust forecasting models.

💡Did You Know

Twin Peaks became a cultural phenomenon in early 1990s Japan, spawning daytime TV speculation shows about Laura Palmer's killer and mock funeral ceremonies. The show's popularity extended far beyond television, generating extensive merchandise and profoundly influencing Japanese game development. Silent Hill's psychological horror atmosphere and surreal small-town mysteries drew directly from Lynch's vision, while even Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening incorporated the show's dreamlike logic and bizarre character interactions. This cross-cultural pollination demonstrates how American television can unexpectedly shape entire gaming genres, with Twin Peaks' DNA still visible in modern horror games today.

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