How should a game developer in India receive payments from abroad?

India's game industry earns from abroad in several ways at once. A Hyderabad art outsourcing studio delivers character models to a Finnish mobile publisher. A Pune team ports a console title for a Japanese studio. A Guwahati solo developer sells a puzzle game on Google Play and a PC storefront. A Mumbai studio signs a publishing deal with a UK publisher that pays milestone advances against future royalties.

Each of those is a different kind of receipt, with its own GST, purpose code and tax question. This page covers them and links to the detailed guides. It is general information; confirm your contracts with a chartered accountant (CA).

How do international clients pay Indian game developers?

International clients pay Indian game developers through milestone invoices, publisher advances, store payouts and receiving accounts, depending on whether the studio works for hire or sells its own games.

• Milestone invoices: From co-dev clients and publishers, usually by SWIFT wire. See milestone payments in export contracts.
• Publisher advances: Paid before delivery and recouped from royalties. Advances have their own rules; see advance payment against exports.
• Store payouts: Net of the store's fee and any withholding tax. Google's agreement says it deducts withholding taxes where it determines local law requires it.¹⁵
• Receiving accounts and payment providers: Used for smaller clients.

For example, the Hyderabad studio above bills its Finnish publisher per milestone by wire, while the Guwahati solo developer receives store payouts from Google Play.

Where does the money go between a foreign client and an Indian game studio's bank?

Money from a foreign client reaches an Indian game studio either through the banking network, through a platform that collects it abroad and pays out in rupees, or through a store payout. The route decides who converts the currency and who issues the Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA).

• SWIFT wire: The client's bank sends the payment to your Indian bank, sometimes through correspondent banks. Your bank converts it to INR and reports it under a purpose code from RBI's list.⁶
• Payment platform: The client pays into local account details or a payment link in its own country, and the platform converts the money and pays INR into your Indian bank account.
• Store: The store collects from players and remits your share, after its fees and any withholding, to your bank.¹⁵

For example, the Mumbai studio's UK publisher can pay a milestone advance by wire or into local GBP account details. Whichever route you use, invoices from 1 October 2026 need an EDF.⁹

What are the ways for Indian game developers to receive international payments?

Indian game developers can receive international payments through local account details from a payment platform, a card or payment link, a SWIFT wire to an Indian bank, or an app store or game storefront payout. Each route has a different cost, speed and FIRA position.

How do Indian game developers get paid through local account details from a payment platform?

Local account details let a foreign client pay Indian game developers with an ordinary domestic transfer in the client's own country, such as ACH in the US. The platform then converts the money and pays INR into your Indian bank account.

• How it works: You open an account with the platform, receive account details in the client's currency, and put them on your invoice.
• Pros: The client pays the way it pays a local supplier, with no international wire to set up.
• Cons: Each platform sets its own sign-up rules, limits and supported currencies.
• Cost: About 0.68% to 4.00% of a USD 5,000 receipt on published fees, for platforms that publish full pricing.^{181920212223242526}
• Settlement: From the same day to weekly, depending on the platform.²⁷²⁸
• FIRA: Terms differ by platform; see the FIRA column in the platform table below.
• Ideal for: Clients who pay by bank transfer in USD, GBP, EUR and other major currencies.

How do Indian game developers get paid by card, PayPal or a payment link?

A card, PayPal or payment link lets a foreign client pay Indian game developers online from an invoice or link, and the platform settles INR to your Indian bank account.

• How it works: You send a link or invoice; the client pays by card, PayPal balance or a bank debit such as US ACH.
• Pros: Easy for small clients and one-off jobs that do not want to set up a bank transfer.
• Cons: Published fees on these routes reach 8.23% of a USD 5,000 receipt,.^24262930
• Cost: About 1.99% to 8.23% of a USD 5,000 receipt on published fees.^24262930
• Settlement: Depends on the platform; see the platform table below.
• FIRA: Depends on the platform; see the platform table below.
• Ideal for: Small or one-off clients who prefer to pay by card.

How do Indian game developers get paid by SWIFT wire to an Indian bank?

A SWIFT wire sends the client's payment from its bank to the Indian bank account of Indian game developers, with no payment platform in between.

• How it works: You give the client your bank's SWIFT code and account details; your bank converts the credit to INR and asks you to confirm the purpose code.
• Pros: No platform account is needed, and the payment stays inside the banking system from end to end.
• Cons: The sending bank, any correspondent bank and your own bank can each charge, and your bank's conversion rate applies.
• Cost: Set by the banks involved; ask your bank for its charges. See bank wire vs payment platform.
• Settlement: Depends on the banks involved.
• FIRA: Ask your bank for a FIRA or FIRC for each credit.
• Ideal for: Large invoices and clients whose procurement teams pay only by wire.

How do Indian game developers get paid through app stores and game storefronts?

App stores and game storefronts pay Indian game developers sales proceeds after the store's fees, under the terms of each store's distribution agreement.¹⁵¹⁶

• How it works: Players pay the store; the store remits your share to your bank account.
• Google Play: Google's agreement says Google, acting as your agent, is the merchant of record in the countries it lists, and you are the merchant of record elsewhere.¹⁵
• Apple App Store: Apple acts as your agent in some regions and your commissionaire in others.¹⁶
• Other storefronts: Read the distribution agreement of every PC or console storefront you use for the same point.
• Ideal for: Studios and solo developers selling their own games and in-game purchases.

Which platforms are best for Indian game developers?

The best platform for Indian game developers depends on how clients pay, because each platform suits a different kind of payment. The table lists platforms by estimated cost on a USD 5,000 receipt on their published fees, cheapest first, then platforms without full published pricing, A to Z.^{181920212223242526}

Each platform name links to its full review.

How much INR do Indian game developers receive on $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000?

The INR that Indian game developers receive on each invoice size depends on the platform's published fee, its currency conversion and the day's exchange rate. The table below works it out from published fees at today's rate.

Bank wires are not in the table because each bank sets its own charges and conversion rate. Use the platform cost comparison for other amounts.

What should Indian game developers look for beyond cost?

Beyond cost, Indian game developers should compare providers on the same criteria, because milestone and advance payments can be large.

• FIRA: Whether a FIRA is issued for each payment.
• Purpose code: How the purpose code is handled, since fees and royalties need different codes.
• Fees and FX conversion: Published fees and the conversion rate.
• Settlement time: How long the money takes to reach your bank.
• Limits: Per-transaction limits against your largest milestone.

The comparison hub sets out each provider's published terms.

What compliance documents do Indian game developers need?

Indian game developers need a FIRA for each payment, separate purpose codes for fees and royalties, a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) and rule 46 invoice endorsement once registered for GST, and an EDF from 1 October 2026.⁴⁶⁹ Game code appears to count as software for the EDF, and RBI superseded the SOFTEX circulars from 1 October 2026.⁹¹¹

When is game development work for a foreign studio an export of services?

Co-development, art, animation, porting, QA and live-ops work billed to a foreign studio is an export of services when the five conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act are met.¹ The place of supply of such work is normally the client's location under section 13(2), and exports are zero-rated under section 16.²³

Game outsourcing is layered, which creates the usual traps:

• Subcontracting through an Indian vendor: If an Indian outsourcing company holds the foreign contract and passes work to you, your invoice is to the Indian company and is domestic.
• Subcontracting for a foreign co-dev studio: This is fine. CBIC Circular No. 159/15/2021-GST says a sub-contractor providing the main service, fully or partly, is not an intermediary.⁵
• Playtesting with testers physically abroad, or work on hardware sent to you: Special place-of-supply rules can apply; see place of supply for export of services.
• LUT: Registered studios file an LUT and add the rule 46 endorsement to invoices; rule 96A makes IGST payable if an LUT invoice is not paid within one year of the invoice date, or the period allowed under FEMA including any RBI-permitted extension if that is later.⁴¹⁷

How is GST handled on games an Indian studio sells itself?

Games sold to players are different from work for a client: through a store, the store's contract decides who your customer is.¹⁵¹⁶ Sold directly to players abroad, a downloadable game or in-game purchase is usually an online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) service: section 2(17) of the IGST Act lists online supplies of digital content and software over the internet.¹ The place of supply is the player's location under section 13(12), so keep billing and card-country records.² See app store income, GST and tax and OIDAR services under GST.

Which RBI purpose codes fit game studio receipts?

Game studios usually need two or three codes, because fees and royalties are different receipts.⁶⁷

DGFT maps the IT design and development SACs and SAC 998434, "Software downloads", to both P0802 and P0807.⁸ The SOFTEX circulars were superseded from 1 October 2026,¹¹ and RBI has not changed either description, so which of the two your bank now applies is unclear. See P0802 vs P0807 and the purpose code finder.

What do Indian game studios file under the 2026 RBI rules?

Game studios file an EDF with the specified authority from 1 October 2026.⁹ Game code, art files and audio appear to fall within the 2026 Regulations' definition of software, though your bank applies its own classification. The definition covers "any computer programme, database, drawing, design, audio/video signals" on a non-physical medium.⁹

• Deadline: Software exporters file within 30 days from the end of the month of invoicing, and one EDF can cover the month.⁹
• Where to file: For software from the Domestic Tariff Area, the EDF goes to an AD bank or STPI.⁹
• Realisation: Each invoice must then be realised within nine months from its date, or twelve months if invoiced in rupees.¹⁰
• Royalties and store payouts: Royalty statements and store payouts do not fit the invoice model neatly; how they map to EDFs is not settled, so ask your bank.

See EDF for service exporters and the export realisation period.

Is STPI or SEZ registration useful for an Indian game studio?

STPI or SEZ registration is optional for game studios. It may suit a larger studio importing hardware or wanting the STP scheme's single-window approvals; STPI is also a specified authority for software EDFs.⁹ See STPI registration for software exporters and export to SEZ units.

What tax applies to international income for Indian game developers?

The entity decides the income tax route for international income of Indian game developers under the Income-tax Act, 2025.¹²

The table follows section 58.¹² Information technology is a specified profession under section 62(4).¹³

• Game artists: For example, a solo artist billing ₹22 lakh a year for game art should check with a CA whether art work counts as information technology for this purpose.¹³
• Royalties: Royalties from a publisher may be treated differently from fees.
• Group studios: Studios with a foreign parent or a foreign publishing arm must price intra-group charges at arm's length under section 161(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.¹⁴ See transfer pricing for Indian subsidiaries.