Indian gaming is scaling globally
Real-money gaming, casual gaming and studio development are creating leadership roles for builders who can ship global product from India.
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Gaming, Media & Entertainment.
Creative, product and commercial leadership for an industry where attention is the currency.
01 / Overview
The practice.
Gaming, media and entertainment is the sector where creative judgment, product instinct and a P&L all have to live in the same head. The best leaders here are rare, deeply networked, and rarely move for less than a generational opportunity.
We work with gaming studios, OTT platforms, broadcast networks, music and publishing houses, sports rights businesses and digital-first content companies. Our practice serves both global majors with India operations and Indian-origin businesses scaling globally.
02 / Market landscape
What the market is doing.
The forces shaping leadership demand in Gaming right now.
OTT consolidation is reshaping leadership
Mergers, divestments and platform consolidation are creating new leadership benches across content, product and monetisation.
Creator economy has rewritten marketing
Short-form video and creator partnerships have changed what a CMO or Head of Growth needs to be capable of.
Sports rights and live entertainment are creating new P&Ls
Cricket, football, esports and live events are creating commercial leadership roles around rights, partnerships and IP.
03 / Talent landscape
"Creative leaders are referral-driven and rarely visible on talent platforms. Our process is built around peer-to-peer referencing and creative-first evaluation."
04 / Roles we place
The mandates.
Representative roles across 5 role families.
Executive
- · CEO
- · COO
- · Country Head
- · Managing Director
Content & creative
- · Chief Content Officer
- · Head of Originals
- · Head of Studios
- · Head of Production
- · Creative Directors
Product & engineering
- · Chief Product Officer
- · Head of Engineering
- · Head of Design
- · Head of Data
Commercial
- · CMO
- · Head of Growth
- · Head of Monetisation
- · Head of Distribution
- · Head of Partnerships
Sports & live
- · Head of Sports
- · Head of Live Events
- · Head of IP and Licensing
05 / Our approach
How we hire for Gaming.
Creative + commercial dual lens
We reference candidates on the work as much as the metrics. Hits matter, but so does what the team became under them.
Platform vs studio fluency
Platform leaders and studio leaders are different sports. We are explicit about which one a brief actually needs.
Talent that travels
We map Indian-origin leaders globally for businesses building creative leadership benches across geographies.
Founder-grade hiring for studios
For studio leadership, we operate at founder speed and conviction — the best creative leaders won't sit through a 6-month process.
06 / Methodology
Our 5-step process.
The way we run a sector search end to end.
- 01
Creative and commercial brief
We sit with founders, board and creative leadership to define both the creative ambition and the commercial outcome.
- 02
Cross-format mapping
Mapping across film, OTT, gaming, music, sports and digital content as relevant to the brief.
- 03
Peer referencing
Deep referencing from creative peers, collaborators and ex-team members before final rounds.
- 04
Capability and culture assessment
Structured leadership interviewing with explicit attention to creative judgment and team-building track record.
- 05
Closure & integration
Compensation structuring, ESOP and IP-share modelling for studios, and integration plans tailored to creative-org realities.
07 / Capabilities
What we deliver.
- Gaming leadership and studios
- OTT and streaming leadership
- Broadcast and linear TV
- Content, originals and production
- Growth, monetisation and partnerships
- Sports, live events and IP
- Music and publishing
- Creator-economy and digital content
08 / Cross-border
India · UAE · Singapore · Canada.
We routinely place Indian-origin creative and commercial leaders into global media and gaming roles, and bring diaspora leaders back into India for senior platform roles. Our offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, Dubai, Singapore and Toronto operate as a single team for cross-border creative search.
09 / Case snapshots
Recent work.
Anonymised to protect client and candidate confidentiality.
Chief Content Officer for a top-3 OTT platform
Confidential replacement; mapped 80 candidates across film, OTT and broadcast; closed in 14 weeks.
Studio Head for a global gaming major's India build
Greenfield buildout; hired the Studio Head and 4-person leadership team in 7 months.
Head of Monetisation for a real-money gaming unicorn
Hired from outside the sector — a payments and growth leader — for cross-pollination value.
10 / Outcomes
Track record.
80+Media and gaming mandates
20+C-suite placements
6Content categories served
87%Offer-to-join conversion
11 / FAQ
Questions, answered.
- Do you cover gaming studios as well as platforms?
- Yes — and we are explicit about not substituting studio leaders for platform roles, or vice versa.
- Can you support sports and live entertainment hiring?
- Yes. We routinely place commercial and rights leaders across cricket, football, esports and live events.
- Do you work with creator-economy businesses?
- Yes — from Series A onwards, with founder-fit and equity-heavy compensation calibration.
Begin a search
Looking for a leader in Gaming?
A sector lead from our Gaming practice will be in touch within one business day.