India is attracting a lot of foreign investments as the largest online gaming market in terms of application downloads.
India had 421 million online gamers in 2022 and this number is expected to go up to 442 million by 2023, attracting foreign investments in India. Surveys like EY-Loco Gamers Survey (2023), reveal that more and more players are now willing to pay for online gaming subscriptions. The Indian gaming market has raised $2.8 Billion in the last five years from domestic and foreign investments.
Easily accessible and cheap internet is also one reason for the rise in the online gaming market. The country boasts of over 500 gaming studios with around six lakh e-sports players and over one lakh e-sports teams.
Online rummy, Valorant, and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) are amongst the most popular online gaming apps in India. BGMI is an Indian version of the game PUBG, which the government banned in 2022. The app has over 100 million downloads on Play Store.
Vishnu, an online gamer who plays e-football, said that he plays the game for six to seven hours daily. He has participated in a few tournaments conducted by various WhatsApp groups and Instagram pages. He explained that there are matches with AI and user matches. He plays in both these formats. He said, “I am a huge fan of football so we can have our favourite players from around the world in our team, and the game itself is very realistic that we can even perform goal celebrations of our favourite player in the game.”
He added that the dynamics of online gaming are changing as people can now make money out of it. Earlier, people used to think that it is a waste of time but now things are changing. Parents are encouraging children to play in tournaments and competitions.
Pranoor Singh Khurana, an engineering student who plays Valorant, participated in the Inter College Gaming Competition organized by Manipal University, Jaipur, and his group, consisting of five players, stood second. They won a cash prize of Rs. 10,000. He said that he has been playing the game for three years.Earlier, his parents used to be unsupportive of his gaming but after he won the competition their ideology shifted a little, and now, they are more accepting.
Gautam Kaushal, a software engineer said, “Gaming earlier used to be a getaway from real world. Now it is much more. Today, anyone can log in on their device and essentially make a living out of gaming. Revenues in the gaming sector can come in numerous ways: creating games, competing in games professionally, streaming live games, and the latest one in the market-online gaming and betting.”
