Ever fantasized about ditching your boring corporate job to follow your gaming passion? Most people dream about it over lunch breaks but never actually do it. Sidhartha Tewary from GameTout actually took the leap—and hasn’t looked back since. With an MBA degree, corporate experience, and “gaming in his blood,” Sidhartha built one of India’s most respected gaming podcasts, giving developers a platform and gamers a voice. His journey from marketing professional to gaming industry insider offers lessons about passion, persistence, and the realities of India’s gaming ecosystem. We sat down with Sidhartha to discuss his journey, the controversial real money gaming debate, and what India’s gaming future actually looks like.
The Leap: When MBA Meets Gaming Passion
How did your gaming journey actually begin?
Sidhartha’s path wasn’t typical. Armed with an MBA and a comfortable corporate job, he faced the question many professionals encounter: security or passion? “Gaming is always in my blood,” Sidhartha explains, “but I had an MBA degree and a corporate job. One day I just thought—let’s go for gaming.”
His videography knowledge gave him a head start, but the real advantage came from his MBA background and sales abilities. Knowing he wanted to interview developers and understand their “inside out,” Sidhartha leveraged his corporate communication skills—something many gamers lack. “I was always a person who loves to talk,” he says. LinkedIn became his playground, but podcasting became his medium. His sales experience helped him connect with developers, creators, and industry insiders who might otherwise ignore another gaming enthusiast.
The GameTout Gossip podcast didn’t happen overnight. It required networking, building credibility, and consistently delivering content that mattered to India’s gaming community. Sidhartha’s corporate background—often dismissed by pure gaming enthusiasts—actually became his superpower, enabling professional-quality interviews and industry access others couldn’t achieve.
The Real Money Gaming Problem: Why Sidhartha Won’t Support It
Your recent episode tackled real money gaming. What’s your take on its impact?
Sidhartha doesn’t mince words here. “Real money gaming is the real problem. Real money apps are nothing about ‘gaming,'” he states emphatically. For him, gaming means creativity, storytelling, and skill—not gambling mechanics dressed up as games. The psychological manipulation particularly bothers him. “The way they develop the gaming and the background sounds—it’s actually affecting people with addiction, and no one is getting money. It’s 1% of gamers who actually get money.”
He sees real money gaming as fundamentally exploitative, targeting vulnerable populations with promises of easy earnings whilst the vast majority lose money. The social cost concerns him more than industry growth statistics. “It’s officially affecting mass people,” Sidhartha continues. “Obviously law is going to do what law wants to, and after that people stop playing it. But I never support real money gaming.” His position puts him at odds with some industry voices who argue real money gaming brings investment and legitimacy to Indian gaming. Sidhartha sees it differently—as a threat that conflates gambling with genuine game development, potentially poisoning public perception of gaming as a creative medium.
What about government regulation?
Sidhartha believes regulatory intervention is inevitable but won’t solve the fundamental problem. Laws might restrict real money gaming, but they won’t automatically redirect that investment toward genuine game development. The ecosystems are separate, and conflating them damages both.
Funding, Culture, and India’s Gaming Future
What’s holding back Indian game development?
“Money is a big factor,” Sidhartha states bluntly. “There are some artists who are really good, but they have to limit themselves” due to funding constraints. He mentions Yash, the college student who developed Anant Express without huge funding—proving Indian talent exists. “If the government could fund at least ₹500-1,000 crores to these real gaming developers, the scenario would be different.”
Beyond funding, cultural attitudes remain challenging. “Our parents always want us to prioritize study first, and it became a culture. When it becomes cultural, it takes a decade to change.” Gaming as a hobby rather than a career persists across generations, limiting talent pipelines and parental support for aspiring developers.
Where does India stand globally?
“We are 5-7 years behind,” Sidhartha estimates. If funding issues get sorted, “developers can actually hire good designers, and in India there are plenty of good designers—but there’s funding issues.” Building quality games requires marketing, design, programming, sound—all requiring investment. “To build a good game, you need marketing, designing, and everything sorted. For that, the obvious thing is money and some government help which could help new gamer entrants.”
What’s GameTout’s roadmap?
Sidhartha’s confidence is palpable. “I have my roadmap with me. I know what I’m doing here. I have a different role here, but from leaving my marketing job to now, I know what to do.” He’s planning beyond podcasting: “I have a plan to open my media house, and I might search for some opportunities in the coming days. Once I secure my funding, I’ll organize a complete team for my media house.” But he’s clear about motivations: “Game playing doesn’t go with me—it comes with a passion.”
His role isn’t playing games professionally but amplifying Indian developers’ voices, creating content that helps them grow, and building infrastructure for India’s gaming community. Sidhartha Tewary’s journey from MBA professional to gaming industry voice demonstrates that passion, when combined with professional skills, can carve unconventional career paths. His unflinching stance on real money gaming, clear-eyed assessment of India’s funding challenges, and ambitious plans for GameTout’s future show someone who understands both gaming culture and business realities.
As India’s gaming industry matures, voices like Sidhartha’s—bridging corporate professionalism and genuine gaming passion—become increasingly essential for navigating growth challenges whilst maintaining creative integrity. His story proves you don’t need to choose between professional skills and creative passion—sometimes the combination becomes your greatest advantage.
