The Online Gaming Industry in India [Case Study]

We all like to play games, as it is considered to be one of the most intriguing activities for amusement and leisure. Be it Candy crush or PUB-G the craze for games in India has been on top. It is often said that this fun activity has the power to make you happy as it increases your brain function, releases serotonin which is a chemical that makes us feel delightful.

Well, the allure of playing games is not new, be it board games or virtual games, the excitement of it has always increased in India. After the technological advancement and the history of gaming has completely changed and transformed.

The one prominent area which did not get relatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic was the gaming industry all over the world. In fact, the pandemic lockdown gave a boost to this industry since people were forced to sit at their homes and explore some leisure activities.

According to a survey, there was a 30% increased in traffic in online mobile gaming in India during this period. Also, Paytm First Games reported that they saw an increase of 200% in the users of this online gaming platform.

Timeline of Gaming Industry
The Current Gaming Scenario in India
Gamers and their Preferences
Top 10 online games in India
Future of Gaming Industry in India
FAQ

Timeline of Gaming Industry

18th Century: It was those times when people first discovered the concept of games in the Egyptian Dynasties. Later on in the 18th century as people started evolving the invention of card games and board games began to happen.

19th Century: People realized this leisure activity can be commercialized. Also this time people became advanced with the facilities of printing and manufacturing and hence started to produce the more vibrant and rich card and board games. For the first time, Monopoly was introduced in the year 1902 which is still a big sensation today when it comes to board games.

In the late 1930s, when computers were built the gaming advancements also began. The simple card games and board games were thought to be converted in the form of electronic means as well.

1950s–1990s: This was the era when the very first computer games and video games started becoming popular. Home computers had built-in games and portable video games became trendy. When mobile phones were released in the late 1990’s people in India were crazy about games like ‘Snakes’ on Nokia phones.

2000 – 2010: As the technology started upgrading and the mobile phones became better and better, the digital gaming industry valued around $5 billion.

2011 – 2016: When the technology rapidly started growing, VR games were introduced to people. The evolution of cameras, graphics, and sound quality enhanced the user experience in the gaming industry.

2016 – Today: Since 2016 till date, the global mobile gaming industry has never seen a huge downfall. Along with mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, people started purchasing specialized PCs that are designed to play heavy games with the most effective graphics and user interface. The trend of playing games professionally has also increased a lot in the Indian market.

Flipkart Acquires Mobile Gaming Startup Mech Mocha

E-commerce site Flipkart recently announced that it had acquired theintellectual property from mobile gaming startup Mech Mocha, in a bid tostrengthen its gaming strategy. Mech Mocha is a mobile gaming startup [/tag/gaming-startup/#] that owns thecountry’s first live-social gaming platform know…

StartupTalkyTanusha Verma

The Current Gaming Scenario in India

In the past few years, the gaming industry in India is flourishing tremendously. From $62 billion in 2019 to $90 billion in 2020, the market continues to grow in robust ways. During the lockdown, the major segments that contributed to the growth were esports, mobile gaming, and real money gaming. The gaming industry has also been very significant in creating numerous job opportunities for people.

Today mobile gaming in India has reached millions of people. There are more than 600 million gamers around us and this is not going to stop anytime soon. India ranks 5th in engagement and awareness of gaming around the globe and this shows that people are totally involved in this segment.

Gaming firms have now started earning handsome revenues from this sector by generating a huge volume of game downloads, shooting advertisements, and elevating user experience. These companies also charge their customers some amount for premium game packs, subscriptions, purchases of coins, and other such chargeable extensions.

Gamers and their Preferences

Even though many games are considered to be gender-neutral, but there are games that are specifically designed for males or females. Today over 80% of the gamers population is below the age of 24 years while only 8% of the people age above 40. Youngsters tend to your internet more and play online games. According to the statistics, over 83% of the gamers’ population is male while only 17% is female.

While categorizing the genre of games, females prefer games that are related to puzzle or arcade games, whereas males prefer games that have action, sports, and thrill. Usually, such games are heavy in usage and require efficient devices. India has world-class infrastructure, IT skills, and more than that, the talent which has advanced gaming technology. The gamers enjoy the games developed by gaming centers like Microsoft, Disney, Sony, Playdom, UbiSoft, etc.

Top 10 online games in India

Here is the list of Top 10 games that Indians have absolutely loved and have been most trendy to date –

• PUB-G (now banned)
• Candy Crush
• Clash of Clans
• Fortnite
• Call of Duty
• Subway Surfer
• Among Us
• FIFA
• 8 ball pool
• Counter-Strike

And a few more like Ludo, Rummy, Teen Patti, etc.

Top 10 Online Fantasy Gaming Companies in India

Time and again, an app comes into play that floods up the market share. OnlineFantasy Games has become more common in the last 2 decades and shockingly it hassecured top gear in India. Because, if by creating your own imaginary team, youcould earn some real money, then, why not? Let’s dive in an…

StartupTalkyAvantika Bhardwaj

Future of Gaming Industry in India

1. Age and gender dominance is likely to improve in the near future. Online gaming will soon see a shift in the age and gender composition of the total population since the huge untapped market is likely to experience this world of gaming

2. Cloud gaming is going to get very popular especially in India. All people would need to have is a stable internet connection and they could get an experience of gaming like never before.

3. Freemium companies will help the industry to get better economic conditions. We are a very price-sensitive market and freemium gamers would continue to search for alternatives if the companies start charging for premium services.

4. Emerging technologies will help our country to uplift the gaming industry even more. The use of artificial intelligence augmented reality in games, virtual reality, modular technology, and cloud based gaming infrastructure will be the key drivers of the gaming industry in the future.

FAQ

How big is the gaming industry in India?

The online gaming industry in India is expected to grow up to $2.8 billion till 2022.

How much does the gaming industry make 2020?

Global gaming industry is expected to surge $179 billion in 2020.

Which country has the most gamers?

According to Statista, Vietnam is the country with most number of gamers as of 2020.

Conclusion

The Indian online gaming industry is growing every month these days. Especially after the pandemic, when kids have more time and even the adults got introduced to this world of gaming. Moreover, it has even given opportunities to entrepreneurs to find more ways to market their products. Additionally, there are startups emerging in this industry and even investors are heavily funding these startups seeing their potential to grow in the country.