Often it is said that the Indian Gaming Industry is the next big thing in India. Moreover, we never knew why is it so and what are the chances of the industry getting boomed. Recently, Boston Consulting Group and SEQUOIA Mobile came up with a report which showcases the highlight of the Gaming Industry in India. So, without further delay, let’s jump onto the key points.
Market Overview Of Indian Gaming Industry:
Gaming is a $1.8Bn sunrise sector in India: still relatively small (~1% of global) but growing very fast. This value means the industry is the 5th highest gainer among the entertainment services following Television, newspapers, Books, and Social Media platforms.
Multiplayer games are seeing increased time spent and monetization because consumers like to compete. Furthermore, the launch of games like BGMI and COD Mobile has increased the market value.
However, the Indian gaming industry is still behind some of the top countries like the USA and China. But, the increase is a positive sign and in the upcoming few years, we will be equal to those numbers.
5 key Trends in the Indian Mobile Gaming Market-
- Increased focus on familiar content, along with visual and voice features, are helping onboard new gamers and driving higher engagements.
- India emerging as talent hub – for India and for the world: larger talent pool with # gaming
companies having gone up >10x over last decade. Early investments by international studios translate to talent proliferation now. - Influencer-driven user-generated content, live streaming, and the nascent but growing ~$100Mn esports industry are driving gaming adoption and higher engagement.
- Gaming platforms emerging – attracting user and investor attention: proposition of diverse as a one-stop-shop.
- Investors are actively scouting and shaping space: increased early-stage activity with new highs in terms of $s invested (~33% of all gaming funding came in 2021Q1)
Indian gamers are often unwilling to set their device settings to non-English. Thus, when there is reduced reliance on text e.g., voice chats or visual tutorials, it helps in adoption (breaking language barrier) said one Gaming industry expert.
Games like PUBG Mobile, Ludo Kind introduced communication with gaming terms. This also influenced Content creators to jump into the market.
Big YouTubers are making 50-60 lakhs ($65-80k USD) a month from YouTube alone. Brand partnerships are over and above that said one of the heads of Talent Management Agency.
Choice of games context-oriented with different drivers. Limited correlation of factors like
demographics to the gamer archetype
Gaming is social; more players induces competition and loosen purse strings
Close to half the gamers prefer to play games with friends and family as a means of socializing; high engagement gamer archetypes tend to spend more across monetization preferences
Rise of Women Gamers-
Increasing adoption by women gamers albeit in low engagement archetypes (higher engagement archetypes continue to be male-dominated)- helps push the overall maturity curve for gaming in India.
Game discovery continues to be an unmet need:
Discovery continues to be a pain point with gamers seeking more personalized game recommendations (Gamers today discover games largely through word-of-mouth, app stores, or social media).
Gaming is no longer perceived as a ‘waste of time’:
Gamers are seeing gaming in a positive light, and are likely to use gaming as a means of therapy as well as for educational purposes. Casual games, free-to-play games, and influencers are good hooks to onboard first- 1 time gamers.
Genre diversification is effective in increasing engagement and addressing churn. Contextual and interactive social experiences are key in driving adoption and 4 retentions for gamers. Ads and product placements can be blended seamlessly into the game without 5 being obtrusive to the gamer.
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