The mobile gaming sector is hugely important in India and is changing shape, as more people start using their mobile devices to play or to watch others do it. How is this shift in gaming habits coming along and what are the factors behind it?
Improving technology has led to the appearance of more live gaming platforms where players can either take part in gaming competitions or else watch others playing. At a global level, the leader in this respect is Twitch, which has an average of 1.4 million concurrent viewers in 2020.
YouTube Gaming has also been present in India since 2016, and by the end of 2019 had 24 gaming channels with over a million subscribers. This has opened up a new way for gamers to earn money by playing online.
In June 2020, it was announced that the Indian streaming platform Loco had linked up with esports firm Fnatic to produce a streaming option solely for this country. They said at the time that Fnatic’s PUBG Mobile players were a focus of the platform, although the fact this game is now banned in India presumably means a change of plans.
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Live games of other types have also become popular in the country in recent times. An example comes from the Genesis casino in India that offers the likes of baccarat, blackjack, and roulette with live dealers. Monopoly and Deal or No Deal are also two other types of live games that can be played here.
In addition, a study put together by KPMG and Google suggests that the number of active Indian gamers will shoot up to 310 million by the year 2021. This growth will largely be driven by esports, leading to the market being worth as much as $1 billion by then.
A report titled eSports in India by Inc4Plus looked at the market landscape in 2020. They pointed out some of the ways in which this sector is growing, with eSports now accounting for 4% of all online gaming and over 9% of the total revenue.
Part of the effect of the rising popularity of professional video gaming is that the pools of prize money have grown rapidly, with an increase of over 123% noted from 2016 through to 2018. This increase in the amount of potential winnings has encouraged more players to take part in events.
Increasingly easy access to the internet and rising mobile ownership are among the main factors that have helped the market to grow as quickly as this. The number of online gamers, and amount of time spent playing, have both grown impressively so far in 2020, with the expected roll-out of 5G in mid-2021 likely to give an extra boost.
It is clear that many of the right elements are already in place for the shift to professional video gaming to continue in India. As more people discover the pleasure of gaming online or of watching others do it, the potential for this market keeps on growing.
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