Year after year, the gaming industry in India keeps expanding tremendously. This is not surprising as the country has a large percentage of youths. Coupled with that, there are over 570 million Indians active on the internet. Of the 570 million people, eighty-five percent make use of their smartphones and mobile devices to surf the internet. One of the most popular forms of Indians engagement online has been gaming and streaming.
The Indian Gaming Industry will be worth $3,750 by 2024
According to a report, the gaming industry in India will hit $3,750 million by 2024. The reports also claim that the gaming industry is currently worth $930 million and is predicted to rise at forty-four percent yearly.
Within 2014 to 2020, Indias iGaming Industry has already seen $350 million in investments from global firms. The country is currently the second-largest market for apps downloads globally.
According to the same report, the gaming market investment is expanding at a yearly growth rate of twenty-two percent. The growth rate of the iGaming market in the country will rise about forty-one percent yearly because of the development in digital infrastructure and growth in quality content.
Three main categories of gaming
There are three major categories of gaming in India. These are casual games, real money games, and E-sports. All three categories are experiencing growth and in different ways, with over 300 million Indian gamers actively enjoying them. This number of gamers is expected to grow at forty-seven percent by 2022. So you can imagine how this will affect the worth of the market.
Many Indian companies are gaining more interest in casual gaming, both offline and online. For instance, FXLabs Studios, the leading developer of video games in India, recently signed a partnership deal to acquire Interactive Media Technology, a company based in the US. Interactive Media Technology owns knibble.com, one of the largest online casual games platforms in the world. There are over 10,000 video games on Knibble, available on multiple platforms. Similarly, Indiagames, a Mumbai-based gaming company has partnered with MMORPG to release its popular games, Ragnarok and Gunz online
The growth of the Esports category which was already thriving in India was enhanced by the coronavirus lockdown. As soon as all social interactions moved online during the lockdown, many turned to other options of socializing. Esports was one of the activities that people turned to. Platforms like Twitch saw a thirty-one percent increase in March during the lockdown. Millions of Indians are playing competitive titles on these platforms. Popular games include PUBG, League of Legends, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Madden NFL, and Overwatch.
More Indians began to love Esports more since it was included in an event in the 2018 Asian Games and Indian won a medal. Then, it became more popular when Bhubaneswar hosted the FIFA U-19 qualifier esports tournament with more than 130 players.
Then, real money games have a top driver of the growth in the Industry. With the availability of many online casinos to Indians, many people are enjoying real money games legally. These casinos allow Indians to place wagers in Rupees and also allow withdrawals in Rupees. Many Indian payment methods are also available and this makes it so easy for Indians to wager. The real money games category has contributed immensely to the growth of the overall gaming market.
Indian games yield the most profit
Even though Indians enjoy different kinds of games, Indian games have been yielding more profit. Games like Rummy, Poker, Teen Patti, and Andar Bahar have been the top-performing games online. There are several rummy sites with millions of Indians playing and winning money daily. Indians are also playing poker games on online casinos and apps, placing large bets on the different variants.
The most performing game has been Teen Patti. Over thirty million Indians are playing this card game on different apps like Teen Patti Octro and Teen Patti Gold. These popular apps allow Indians to buy coins and play the card game with coins. This way people are enjoying the game privately and even socializing with friends and family.
However, we can now do more than just playing Teen Patti with coins or chips. Instead of playing with coins, gamers can now play Teen Patti with real cash. This is done at online casinos that are not hosted in India. The casinos allow wagers in rupees and also give opportunities for gamers to win real cash. The game is enjoyed both as virtual and live. The live version of the game is mostly enjoyed by gamers. They get to see live dealers at the real casino tables. More interesting is that the live dealer speaks Hindi in some of the Teen Patti games.
There are already more than 400 gaming startups in India
Many more people are investing in gaming and starting up firms in the country. Over 400 gaming startups are already contributing to the expansion of the industry, especially mobile gaming. This has also had its effect on the countrys economy as these startups are employing citizens and adding value to their locations. There are currently thousands of jobs available in the countrys gaming market.
Another way these startups are contributing immensely to the industry is developing localized content. As many more games are developed strictly for Indian gamers, there certainly will be an increase in people interested in gaming. However, these startups face challenges in so many areas. These include funding required for developing high-quality content. But as more and more people consume the content, these startups will likely grow to become giants soon.