India's gaming industry is valued at 930 million dollars with an estimated number of gamers to touch 628 million by this year itself. Majority would be recreational gamers. There are many youngsters who are living from gaming. They either get into eSports, which involves competing, or gaming for audiences on streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Both avenues appear lucrative. According to a recent report by Maple Capital Advisors, many industry players are now looking to enter India and invest in the country’s gaming market. While the digital gaming industry is soaring high, the virtual reality entertainment zones are also picking up pace. Gamers today are making a career out of streaming, and competing in eSports.
There are over 400 gaming companies here and India is also one of the top five mobile gaming markets in the world, with a 13% share of global game sessions, according to a report by Deloitte India. Competitive eSporting is divided into four main genres, that are fighting games (like Mortal Kombat), first-person shooters (Counter Strike and Battlefield), real-time strategy (Hearthstone) and multiplayer online battle (Battle Arena). However, each game has a set of rules laid down either by the International Esports Federation or Asian Electronic Sports Federation, based on which tournaments - both national and international - are organised. India has the potential to become the AR / VR and casual gaming development factory of the world if talent is nurtured and infrastructure is built.
The pandemic has helped the online gaming to grow to 12% during the lockdown period, with a remarkable growth in online card games and digital sports. One of the major contributors to the growing eSports community, which is device-agnostic, has been gaming cafés in metropolitan cities. “Ten years ago, online socialising was not a thing. Even now, with Discord, WhatsApp and everything, I think socialising is better if you are with the person. And, these places also conduct tournaments. The aggregate revenue of e-sports startups and companies in India reached 68 million dollars in FY 2020 and is projected to grow by CAGR 36% over three years.
The Indian eSports industry is still at a nascent stage - largely unstructured without a uniform body or market research. And still, there are many who have made money off it. Gaming has not only been subjected to consoles, PC, mobile but also Virtual Reality gaming which can be experienced in facilities like Microgravity in India. India is expected to add nearly 40 million online gamers during 2020−22, according to Deloitte. Maple Capital Advisors’ report estimates that the Indian gaming industry will grow 41% annually due to the growth of digital infrastructure. By 2024, it claims, the gaming industry will be worth $3,750 million. Going by these numbers, we are on the cusp of a great Indian gaming boom.
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