Authored by Mr. Steven Liu, Director, TAITRA
Of what was supposed to be a technological oddity at a science fair -over the years – gaming has blossomed into one of the most profitable entertainment industries in the world. The mobile technology boom has revolutionized the industry and has given rise to a new generation of gamers. As, gaming becomes so integrated with modern popular culture we try to trace back India's journey to witness the emerging boom of the industry.
Over the past few years, the Indian gaming industry has witnessed an unprecedented upsurge aided by affordable smartphones, cheap and faster internet, along with ease in the availability of state-of-the-art infrastructure. With an expected growth of over 100 million by 2020, the boom has led to an exponential growth of the online-gaming industry in India. With advanced user-engagement, and adequate digital-infrastructure, the gaming industry is building a holistic ecosystem catering to a large and a diverse populace. In accordance to a report by NASSCOM, India's mobile-gaming market is expected to reach 628 million users and be worth $1.1 billion by 2020, up from $290 million in 2016. Compared to all the emerging markets, at present India stands as one of the largest market in terms of downloads and engagement.
Indian gaming companies have been making exceptional contributions to the gaming market with innovation-driven advancements in their offerings. The demands for interactive games are on the rise and Indian gaming companies are using this as an opportunity. With the development of comprehensive local expertise, the role of local companies is evolving from being a service provider to end-to-end game developers. This trend is expected to become bigger in the future; with companies developing enhanced content customized to local market preferences. Popular games like PUBG, Counter-Strike, Dota2, Fortnight have played a major role to take the industry one step up. These developments have led the Indian companies to expand globally and join hands with them, thus resulting in the expansion of the Indian gaming market.
As digitalization in India is skyrocketing more people are shifting online, thereby creating a niche segment of mature games. With attractive and easy user interface, multiplayer theme inspired, pre-embedded games and applications revolutionized mobile gaming and enabled easy discovery and monetization. From students to IT professionals, anyone with a smartphone and having access to the internet can become a player and earn exciting rewards in return.
India's gaming boom has been successful in garnering attention of global gaming manufacturers across countries that includes Japan, China, and Taiwan. Identifying the dire need of world-class tech and gaming equipment, global gaming manufacturers have started recognizing India's great potential in the digital realm. As a market that has grown considerably in the last decade, gaming is viewed with a lot more seriousness for the potential benefits it could yield. As a matter of fact, leading manufacturers such as ASUS, MSI and some of the Taiwanese brands have already reported an increase in local sales. At the same time, other brands such as Gigabyte, Avermedia, Cooler master, D-link, In Win, Silicon Power, Zowie, Team Group, ADATA, Predator and Thermaltake are also gaining popularity among gaming enthusiasts.
Gaming in India is on a steep rise due to an increase in disposable income levels, adoption of advanced gaming technologies, changing lifestyle-choices, and the trend of individual escapism. With a vast youth population of over 350 million India, stands as a viable market for gaming corporations to invest towards. For Asian countries like Japan, China and Taiwan – India is fastly becoming a source for potential professional gamers with endless possibilities.
