Pixel P&L: Comic Con India 13th Edition to Kick Off in Hyderabad

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 kicks off its 13th edition in Hyderabad this October, expecting tens of thousands of fans for the country's largest pop culture festival.

• Sega Sammy posts surprising Q1 loss despite new game launches, with sales falling 22.7% year-over-year.

• Orangutan Gaming claims victory at iQOO's inaugural Battlegrounds Series, walking away with INR 5.5 million in prize money.

• Battlefield 6 beta smashes Steam records with over 521,000 peak players, quadrupling Battlefield 2042's previous high.

• Gaming consultancy Vivrato expands rapidly, adding nine industry veterans including former Disney and Devolver Digital executives.

Let's get into it.

Comic Con India to Launch 13th Edition in Hyderabad

Comic Con India will kick off its 13th edition in Hyderabad from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the country's largest pop culture festival organizers said on Tuesday. The three-day event at HITEX Exhibition Centre is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors, building on last year's attendance of more than 40,000 people in the southern Indian city. The 2025-2026 season promises international celebrity appearances, exclusive merchandise launches, competitive gaming tournaments, and immersive fan experiences.

"Hyderabad has rapidly evolved into one of India's most dynamic cultural hubs," said Shefali Johnson, CEO of Comic Con India. The city's thriving tech sector and young demographic have created fertile ground for pop culture enthusiasm.

Co-founder Akshat Rathee of NODWIN Gaming emphasized the event's tailored approach, promising city-specific programming that reflects local fan interests while maintaining global pop culture standards. The festival will feature cosplay competitions, live performances, and meet-and-greets with content creators across comics, gaming, anime, and entertainment sectors.

Sega Sammy Reports First-Quarter Loss Despite New Game Launches

Sega Sammy Holdings posted an operating loss of ¥519 million ($3.5 million) for its first quarter ended June 30, reversing from a ¥19.2 billion ($130 million) profit in the same period last year, as the Japanese gaming company grappled with fewer new title releases.

Net sales fell 22.7% to ¥81 billion ($548 million), though the company said results "exceeded expectations" despite a limited release schedule. The Entertainment Contents division, which houses its gaming operations, saw sales decline 6.7% to ¥67.7 billion ($458 million) while operating income dropped 39% to ¥7.1 billion ($48 million).

Game unit sales totaled 4.9 million copies, down from 5.8 million a year earlier. New title sales reached 610,000 units compared with 710,000 previously, while catalog sales fell to 4.3 million from 5.1 million units.

The company found success with free-to-play title "Persona 5: The Phantom X," which exceeded 1.5 million downloads on its June launch day. Sega maintained its full-year forecast and emphasized its transmedia strategy aimed at expanding intellectual property value beyond gaming into animation and licensing.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Orangutan Gaming Wins Inaugural iQOO Battlegrounds Series in India

Smartphone maker iQOO concluded its inaugural Battlegrounds Series tournament with an INR 10 million prize pool. Orangutan Gaming won the three-day event at Noida Indoor Stadium, taking INR 5.5 million in prize money. The tournament featured 32 teams competing in Battlegrounds Mobile India. iQOO used the event to promote gaming smartphones to younger consumers. CEO Nipun Marya called it the brand's "flagship gaming IP."

Battlefield 6 Beta Sets Steam Record With 521,000 Players

Electronic Arts' Battlefield 6 open beta attracted 521,079 peak concurrent players on Steam during its weekend trial, marking the highest player count for any Battlefield game on Valve's platform. The August 9-10 beta quadrupled Battlefield 2042's previous record of 107,376 players, positioning the upcoming shooter as the 18th most-played Steam game by peak users ahead of its October 10 release.

Gaming Consultancy Vivrato Adds Nine Industry Veterans

Video game consultancy Vivrato, launched in January by former Iron Galaxy Studios co-CEO Adam Boyes, has hired nine gaming industry veterans as advisors. The new hires include former Disney gaming executive Connie Brammeier, ex-Devolver Digital CEO Douglas Morin, and Blumhouse Games co-founder Don Sechler. The firm advises publishers and studios on game development operations and is launching an industry podcast later this year.

⚔️Side Quest

📺 Watch: This panel explores how AI will reshape gaming industry roles, compressing traditional team structures and job functions. As AI handles everything from routine tasks to complex problem-solving, your gaming company must adapt to new organizational structures that combine roles like product management and engineering, or risk falling behind competitors in this intelligence-driven transformation.

🎮 Play: Looking for a cozy puzzle game that balances challenge with charm? Is This Seat Taken? delivers intuitive mechanics that grow cleverly complex without frustrating difficulty spikes. This indie gem features beautiful art, soothing music, and brain-teasing levels perfect for relaxed gaming sessions. 

📚 Read: Mikhail Klimentov critiques the trend of discussing games through business metrics rather than personal experience. He argues that obsessing over sales figures, player counts, and market speculation has infected gaming discourse, urging critics to focus on how games actually feel to play rather than predicting commercial success or failure.

💡Did You Know

A man once blew his entire $2,600 life savings at a single carnival game, determined to win an Xbox Kinect for his children. After hours of failed attempts at what was likely a rigged game, he walked away with nothing but a stuffed banana sporting dreadlocks - worth about $1. The incident, which went viral online, became a cautionary tale about carnival games and gambling addiction. Carnival games are notoriously difficult to win, often featuring subtle design flaws that make success nearly impossible. 

📜 Quote of the Day

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