This week, we will shine the light on a new emerging industry in India – Gaming. Why did we pick this industry, you ask? During one of our live webinars, some attendees asked-
“What is your view on the Gaming Industry in India?”
The question did not surprise us.
The Gaming Industry is a hot topic of conversation. Investor conversations revolve around it over breakfast. Cricketers are starring in advertisements that promote online gaming. While the government is issuing guidelines to harness the online gaming industry, the general public, including parents, are busy playing games on their mobiles when free.
We are sure you played ‘Ludo’, ‘Teen Patti’, ‘Chess’, ‘Candy Crush’, and ‘Carrom’ on your phone. That’s when we decided if everyone is talking about it, we should too.
So let’s dive in.
Before we go further and unfold the content of this series, do you know what Gold Master means?
For starters, Gold Master is a popular term used in gaming parlance to describe “A game that meets all publisher and platform requirements, includes all the assets and features, and is considered ready for launch.”
There can’t be a better reference to describe the gaming industry in India. We describe gaming as
“A sector that has met all investor and user requirements, includes all growth drivers and is considered ready for a mega launch” in the country.
Through this article, we will unfold how the Indian gaming industry is a Gold Master. We also look at why Indian parents are okay with their children enjoying video games.
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The Emergence of Gaming in India
We’ve all had a tough time preventing our children from playing games on mobile phones. But the tide is shifting. Most Indian parents support their children in enjoying online games. A recent article in The Free Press Journal states, “Sixty-one percent of the parents agreed that online games are beneficial to kids.” “Sixty percent of the parents believe online gaming can be a great stress buster for kids,” according to a study YourDost, a leading online counseling and emotional wellness platform conducted.
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How Gaming companies make money
The business model of gaming companies is as simple as any other manufacturing company. Companies develop games and sell them. But what about those who sell games for free on app marketplaces? These developers also make money but through different routes. Our chapter will look at how game developers make money while you play for free.
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COVID-19 the Tipping Point for Online Gaming in India
The Indian online gaming industry was on a robust growth trajectory even before COVID-19. However, the developments post coronavirus led to significant growth in the industry. WFH models created a tipping point in how casual online gaming emerged as the key segment both in terms of the gamer base and revenue contribution to the industry. We will take a deep dive into the casual online gaming ecosystem of players that have amassed scale.
While we work on the series, look at a few interesting facts about Indian Gaming.
- According to a KPMG India report titled “Beyond the tipping point – A primer on online casual gaming in India,” the total online gaming market size was Rs. 136 Bn in FY21 with a user base of 433 mn.
- The casual gaming segment is the most significant and now accounts for Rs. 160 Bn revenue with the highest user base of ~ 420 Mn gamers in FY21.
- In FY21, the average revenue per user is Rs. 152/year, expected to grow to Rs. 268/year.
- India had the highest game downloads in the casual mobile gaming segment globally (excluding China) in CY2020.
- During Q1-Q3 2020 downloads stood at 7.3 Bn accounting for 17% of the global mobile games downloads (excluding China) during the same period.
- Major global investment firms have made significant investments in the Indian gaming industry in the last 2-to 3 years, helping gaming companies achieve operating scale. This industry attracted $544 Mn in investment between Aug 20 and Jan 21.
Would you like to know more? We have a few more articles you can read from this series.
Read More
- Understand Casual Gaming And Its Growth
- Emergence of Online Gaming in India
- How do Game Developers make money?
Read more: How Long-term investing helps create life-changing wealth – TOI.
I’m Vinay Mahindrakar, an experienced content creator with
an affinity for writing on personal finance and other financial content. I
love to write on equity investing, retirement, managing money, and more.