The rise in use of smartphones, the growing curve of the young generation, easy access to the internet and introduction of new games and genres have all contributed to a sharp increase in the popularity of the gaming industry in India.
What do the statistics say?
KPMG has found in a global audit that the Indian mobile gaming industry made a revenue of Rs 13,600 crore last year and is projected to earn Rs 29,000 crore by 2024-25.
The report also highlights that this trend will rise with the popularity of the freemium model. Freemium is a model where the game is free to play, but additional features must be purchased.
The game users are projected to increase from 433 million last year to 657 million in 2025 — which is over 50 per cent increase.
The Indian online gaming industry is growing annually at a rate of 30 per cent and is one of the fastest growing segments within the media and entertainment sector.
What led to the popularity of online gaming?
The growth in popularity can be all accounted to a rise in the number of smartphone users and also an easy accessibility to the internet. Also the pandemic led to people being trapped in their homes for a long time and at such a time these online games catered to kill time. Also, the rise in number and kind of mobile and online games have together contributed to the rise in the curve.
House of Gaming founder and CEO Yash Pariani, an esports company stated that there are approximately 1.5 lakh active users on its platform.
Studies and reports have shown that time spent on gaming on mobiles has sharply increased from 3.5 hours to four hours during the pandemic.
India’s trending online gaming market
- Features that drive engagement: User friendly platforms with visual and voice aid attract new gamers and drive engagement.
- Global gaming hub: A large number of gaming companies have led to an increase in quality games and users.
- Gaming Influencers: Influencer marketing just like any other sector has left the esports industry with high gaming adoption and engagement.
- Increasing investments into the gaming sector: investors are actively funding the gaming sector in India boosting its popularity.
What games are getting popular?
Many kinds of games are really gaining popularity due to their unique features or the way people can engage with them. The games that are gaining popularity include:
- Casual games where users just play games for fun and recreation
- Real-money games, where one can wager real money in online games. This is really gaining popularity in India and most betting bonus sites offer special bonuses when you join them.
- Online fantasy sports, in which players build their fantasy teams and win money based on points earned.
- E-sports, which is professional gaming, with players taking part in competitions to win prize money. This is yet another area which is gaining tremendous popularity and betting sites offer many betting bonuses and bonus promotions such as free bets.
The future of gaming in India
Studies have shown that players spend more than 10 hours a week watching and playing esports globally. Gen Z is highly inspired with real money gaming, esports and adoption of crypto these days. Crypto has just facilitated the transactions to these gaming platforms and the trend shows that this graph will rise further in the future.
FanClash co-founder Rishabh Bhansali said, “E-sports and crypto-adoption are the biggest two consumer trends among Gen-Z, with both industries exploding globally and in India.”
The future of online gaming in India will thus boom, and in no time there will be massive growth and participation in online gaming.
