Govt’s WaveX Accelerator Unveils 7 New Incubators for Gaming & XR Startups

India’s startup ecosystem just got a major boost. With the world’s eyes increasingly fixed on the country’s digital innovation story, the government-backed WaveX startup accelerator has announced the launch of seven new incubation centres across India, exclusively dedicated to startups in the animation, visual effects, gaming, comics (AVGC), and extended reality (XR) sectors.

The move is being seen as a timely intervention to strengthen India’s creative economy and sharpen its competitive edge in high-growth industries like gaming and immersive media—industries that are projected to shape the next decade of digital consumption.

A Pan-India Push for Creative Innovation

According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the new incubators will be housed within some of the country’s leading institutes:

• Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) campuses in Delhi, Jammu, Dhenkanal (Odisha), Kottayam (Kerala), and Amravati (Maharashtra)

• Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune

• Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata

These will operate alongside the flagship incubation facility at the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) in Mumbai, which already serves as the nerve centre for creative-tech startups.

Each centre is designed to support 15 startups per cohort, offering them the infrastructure, mentorship, and industry linkages needed to develop products and solutions that can stand up to global standards.

What Startups Will Get

Startups incubated under WaveX will gain end-to-end support, from production and post-production facilities to game development, testing, and distribution. The government highlighted that ventures from the media, entertainment, AVGC, and XR segments will receive priority access.

The fee structure has been kept affordable at ₹8,500 plus GST per month, ensuring even early-stage startups can benefit.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, startups will also tap into:

• Government and industry connections (both central and state)

• Access to funding opportunities

• Sales and marketing mentorship

• On-site and digital resource accessibility

This ensures not just technical enablement but also business sustainability.

World-Class Infrastructure at IICT, Mumbai

The flagship IICT incubator in Mumbai is already being touted as world-class, boasting equipment and facilities rarely available to early-stage founders. Startups here can access:

• An 8K Red Raptor Vista Vision camera

• A 4K HDR preview theatre with Dolby Atmos

• High-performance Alienware workstations

• A state-of-the-art virtual production stage with LED walls

• Photogrammetry systems

• Professional-grade sound and color-mix theatres

• 4K HDR edit suites

• VR testing kits and the latest gaming consoles

This means a founder working on a game prototype in India can now develop, test, and showcase it on par with global benchmarks without the need to travel abroad.

India’s gaming and XR ecosystem has witnessed an explosion in recent years. With affordable smartphones, cheap data, and a fast-growing young population, gaming alone is projected to touch $8.6 billion by 2027, according to industry estimates. Similarly, extended reality (XR) is being recognized as a key enabler across sectors—from entertainment and education to healthcare and retail.

Until now, Indian startups often struggled with infrastructure gaps, lack of testing environments, and limited access to global-standard equipment. WaveX’s incubation network directly addresses these pain points.

For the government, this isn’t just about fostering entrepreneurship—it’s about ensuring India doesn’t just consume global content but also creates world-class IP in gaming, animation, and immersive media.

Applications Now Open for Gaming Incubator

The Ministry has confirmed that applications for the first batch of startups are now open on wavex.wavesbazaar.com.

With only 15 slots per centre in the inaugural cohort, the demand is expected to be high. For early-stage founders in the AVGC and XR sectors, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to access government-backed infrastructure and mentorship at an affordable price point.

India has long been recognized as a hub for IT and software exports. But the next decade could belong to creative-tech startups—those blending storytelling with technology. By setting up a national network of incubators, the government seems determined to ensure that Indian innovators not only ride this wave but lead it.

In the words of one industry observer, “If IT was India’s story in the 90s and SaaS in the 2010s, then AVGC and XR could well be the defining narrative of India’s startup story in the 2030s.”