Mumbai: The Indian gaming market is poised to reach $6-7 billion in value by 2025, according to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) with OnePlus and RedSeer. India is currently home to over 400 million mobile gamers and the number of gamers is estimated to grow to 650 million by 2025. Currently, mobile gaming dominates the Indian gaming industry, contributing more than 90 per cent to the $1.8 billion gaming market, and is expected to further grow to generate $6-7 billion value by 2025, the report said.
Mobile gaming dominates the Indian gaming industry, contributing more than 90 per cent to the $1.6 billion gaming market. As per the report, it is expected to grow further to generate a $3.9 billion value by 2025. The number of mobile users is also estimated to grow from 430 million to 650 million by 2025, it added.
“We are at the cusp of a gaming revolution and the gaming ecosystem is working towards user-friendly smartphones and leveraging 5G technologies,” said the principal secretary of the Telangana government’s department of industries and commerce and information technology Jayesh Ranjan. The report was released by Ranjan, along with the joint secretary of the ministry of electronics and information technology Saurabh Gaur.
“The gaming sector has underlined the significance of affordable smartphones with capable hardware. I am happy that, parallelly, work is going on to make phones more user-friendly for gaming by leveraging 5G technology, developments in AI/ML, and hardware manufacturing," he added.
According to the report, 40 per cent of hardcore gamers pay for their games with an average spend of Rs 230 per month. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the organic growth of digital games as mobile app downloads grew by 50 per cent and user engagement went up by 20 per cent, the study says. The increased gaming time has spurred the growth of hardcore gamers in India, even as casual games remain the most popular genre in India.
Gaur voiced support for creating games for the Indian audience, based on Indian culture. “The [global] gaming industry can be matched with electronics, and consoles could be manufactured in India," he said.
Indian gaming has leapfrogged into the mobile gaming era due to the rapid increase in smartphone penetration in the country, with large console and PC games now being curated for mobile platforms. The industry is also attracting huge investment interest, with nearly $1 billion being invested in the sector in the last six months.
Smartphones have become more affordable and pack strong hardware that is equipped to run games which may require medium to high specifications. This has opened accessibility to more immersive gaming for the masses, with smartphone OEMs also increasingly focusing on incorporating dedicated gaming features on their newest devices and launching gaming-specific phones.
“Over the past few years, the e-gaming industry in India has grown tremendously, driven by the rising avenues for digitization promoted by the flagship initiative of the government, the Digital India program, and improved accessibility centered around innovation and affordability by OEMs,” said OnePlus India vice president, chief strategy officer and head of India sales, Navnit Nakra who was also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Qualcomm vice president and president Rajen Vagadia Rajen Vagadia highlighted how efforts are being undertaken to nurture esports and ensure that it is seen as a field that can be taken up professionally as well.
