From the shadows of cosy offline gaming zones to virtually connected hyper zone carnivals to premier digital leagues, the gaming industry in India has come a long way.
In fact, according to the best Indian business magazines, with over 250 million online gamers, 300 million mobile gamers, 15000 game developers, and 275 game development companies, more than $1.8 billion markets are growing at a CAGR of 38 percent. Today, India is the second-largest online gaming globally and one of the top five mobile gaming markets.
Thanks to the pandemic, the Indian online and mobile gaming industry has been breaking new records during the last two years. The fastest digitisation ever happening in the country, along with the easy access and availability of famous national-international games/titles, tournaments, leagues, and competitions occurring almost every month.
The Internet has definitely paved the Way for Online Gaming Industry in India!
The industry is well set to become the most significant industry by growing at such a breakneck speed. The primary drivers of this growth are smartphone penetration, heavy internet use, huge investments coming into the ecosystem, digital payments adoption by even the roadside game-selling shops, and emerging technologies like automation, AI, ML, XR, and Immersive tech.
Compared to the world, India has affordable Internet access. In our country, one GB of mobile internet data costs only US$ 0.08 (or Rs. 6.20) as compared to the global average of US$ 8.53 (or Rs. 662). This is driving heavy internet penetration and usage among users, taking their numbers to 46 percent of the total population, counting as active internet users, using 14.6 gigabytes of monthly mobile data on an average. In comparison, the US’s average monthly use of data is 11 GB.
As per the Best Business Blogs in India, the high growth in the gaming industry over the decade had been boomeranged by the pandemic. KPMG reports that with this staggering growth and more Indians now engaged in online gaming, the number of users will touch 510 million by the end of the year. In terms of revenues, over the next five years, the online gaming market in India will touch Rs 300 billion ($3.86 billion).
Thus, forecasted to be one of the biggest industries in the M&E sector, it is going to see an increased share in terms of time and money spent and earned by users.
Investing in Online Gaming Industry in India
During the decade 2010-20, the Indian gaming sector’s fundraising grew with a 38 percent CAGR. Indian Business Leaders opine that online gaming investment from the VC firms will directly streamline supporting companies in this sector.
The Indian financial markets are abuzz with all the Indian gaming IPOs, investments, and advertisement opportunities. Shining in the digital economy corner of India, the VC firms are playing on the bandwagon. This rapid growth could be because of the excitement and interest of the foreign Venture Capital (VC) funding ballooning the ad spending of the sector to an unprecedented level.
As per the Online Business Magazine report of Tracxn Technologies, compared to the 2020s $212.9 million, the Indian gaming sector saw its investment exploding in 2021 (Jan-Dec) by a whopping 108 percent to $443.3 million, mainly from foreign VC firms.
Reasons to Invest in Online Gaming Industry in India
From a commercial perspective, gaming investment is not limited to a single channel but an excellent amalgamation of integrated entertainment, IPR, ability, athletics, media, and broadcasting. Today, many Indian entrepreneurs’ success stories come from mobile gaming app development companies; anyone willing to invest in esports or online gaming development platforms cannot go wrong.
Although, the million-dollar question of what is the ROI or profitability of investing in gaming remains? The answer is multipronged and brilliantly positive. There are various factors. Some of them we have already discussed, like the industry’s current growth scenario and future growth potential. Both show an upward graph. The second most significant factor is the young population of India, half of which is still under the age of 25, which means they are the primary market of gamers. According to an M&E study by KPMG, Indian mobile gamers will soon cross the 365 million mark.
Industry analysts call this a golden period for investors as an ideal setup. The vast market, fast-growth potential, and ever-increasing smartphone and internet penetration boosted by inexpensive data tariffs will remain a sweet spot for the present and future investors.
Investors must invest in the present and future success stories of those gaming businesses that produce mobile games based on extensive customer knowledge by upholding IPR and constantly innovating through the latest technologies and benchmarks.
Digital Payment Schemes
The modern gaming business is revolutionized by the technological advancements of Digitalization, including digital payments and earning models developed by the industry. Racing towards the half-billion active user by next year, a third of the gamer population is predicted to be the real-money gamers (RMG). Others, including card and table games, lottery, fantasy, and casinos, are poised to be the premium segments. These segments do not depend on advertisement as their primary monetization scheme as online gaming niches.
Therefore, RMG requires a reliable establishment of secure payment methods involving digital gateways, online clearance mechanisms, and technical service support.
The Indian gaming industry has developed its systematic framework of financial platforms offering organizations and enterprises ways of handling digital payment flow in a streamlined manner. The entire framework–a combination of local Indian and leading global solutions and service providers – is entirely independent of any foreign intermediation.
Nonetheless, the best-rated and highly employed payment systems have been adopted for entertainment, online gaming, and other related services. These include UPI with various applications from card-linked payments to net banking to e-wallets, neo-banking, and mobile banking.
Despite the grey-area status of cryptocurrencies and other virtual currencies, including NFTs, many digital gaming platforms accept Ether and Bitcoin as transactions.
Hop into Online Gaming Industry in India
Adding up to the intricacy of the online gaming market, the influencers for RMG are worth keeping in mind. It is a precise attempt to comprehend the behaviour and expectations of paying gamers. The Indian gaming market is notable for the enormous availability of free game options for some better-paid games.
Keeping it in mind, the industry experts predict that in the coming future, game development companies and platform operators will keep growing. They will cross over into real money genres, offering various monetary and monetization schemes and technologically advanced gaming products and services.
