Is India’s Esports Market Geared Up To Play In The Big Leagues?

Is India’s Esports Market Geared Up To Play In The Big Leagues?

SUMMARY

The Indian market has turned into a big potential opportunity for esports startups thanks to the rise of mobile gaming

With the lockdown, the likes of WinZO, Ewar Games, Gamerji and others have seen around 2X-3X growth in its user base

Paytm First Games' first esports tournament in April 2020 with Clash Royale saw over 12K registrations and around 70K viewers

“With the rise of the internet, “attention” became the new currency! Covid19, however, has created a paradigm shift in the way we consume content and the way people socialize online. In this playbook, we delve into the new attention economy – new models, emerging players and trends in the world of social media, news apps, audio and video streaming, online games and more.”For Bengaluru-based Ewar, it has been less than four months since inception as a mobile gaming app and it has already had a double-digit growth every month.Ahmedabad-based Gamerji, which has conducted more than 6000 tournaments to date, has seen a 2.5X surge in traffic for esports post-Covid-19 in terms of user base taking it to more than 150K users a month.“India continues to be one of the most promising markets for esports in the world in terms of size and potential. Mobile gaming penetration has surged in the past few years fuelled by affordable handsets and lower data costs. Additionally, further penetration of video streaming platforms like Youtube and video-based social networks like Tik Tok has further helped propel the mobile esports friendly games into mainstream,” said Sudhanshu Gupta, COO, Paytm First Games.“It is a game-changer and is fated to be the next big thing in India. Gaming has evolved into something much more than a mere recreation. Instead of being limited only to a particular time of the day, gamers are now active through the day,” said Parth Chadha, founder, Ewar Games.“Esports had a small user base in India because these games were primarily played on consoles and PCs but mobile gaming has now changed that. Add cheap smartphones and low data rates to that mix and we now have created the perfect storm moment for esports” said Anirudh Pandita, founder, Pocket Aces.“Unlike five years ago, when heavy games could be played only on premium phones, over the past couple of years we have seen that even budget smartphones priced in the INR 10K-20K range have upgraded to a level where they can run hardcore games such as PubG, Free Fire seamlessly,” said Mayank Khanduja, principal, SAIF Partners.“Over the past couple of years, India has evolved into a mobile device gaming market and this has led to a need for products designed specifically for India. For example, a cloud gaming platform that could allow seamless gaming from even the most primitive smartphones and low internet speeds could significantly expand the market size in India,” Khanduja told Inc42.“Many games and platforms are also pushing the boundaries of esports with many Indian studios also investing in tournaments in order to establish their games as popular esports,” said Paytm First Games’ Gupta.Nextwave Multimedia has recently seen a surge in sessions and revenue, a 25% increase in new users, and daily active users and over a 100% spike in in-app purchases in the WCC franchise.“This is fueled by some really large prize money that is offered in the online games. Around 80% of the gamers live in non- metro cities,” said Zone Startups India’s Gupta.“The need for challenge and thrill in the world of gaming is so profound that it is almost tangible. Esports is quickly gearing up to be the forerunner in that,” said Parth Chadha, founder, Ewar Games.

With the cancellation of live sports across the globe, sports enthusiasts have been left with no choice but to watch the reruns of old matches on television. But for those who want a taste of the action and that competitive feeling, online gaming has come to the rescue. Esports is already a burgeoning industry in India and with all social interactions shifting online in the pandemic, there’s been a significant uptick in adoption and traction. For instance, viewership for esports on Amazon-owned Twitch has increased by 31% in March after the pandemic, while Facebook also took the opportunity to expand its Facebook Gaming app.

No results were found for "".
  • «
  • 1
  • »
modal lock

Continue Reading With A Free Inc42 Account

Get the most out of your Inc42 experience by creating a free account. Enjoy personalized recommendations, ad-lite browsing, and access to our exclusive newsletters.