News Excerpt:

According to a joint report by Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council and online gaming firm Winzo, projects paying gamers will reach 240 million by 2028 from 144 million paid users for games in 2023.

Key highlights of the report:

• Industry landscape:
• • India is the fastest-growing mobile gaming market, and the annual revenue of the Indian gaming industry is expected to double by almost $6 billion by 2028 from $3.1 billion in 2023.
  • The Indian gaming industry comprises over 1,400 gaming companies, including 500 gaming studios.
• Job creation:
  • The report projects that India's online gaming industry will add 2.5 lakh more jobs in the next 10 years, which currently employs 1 lakh skilled gaming professionals directly and indirectly.
  • The Indian gaming sector is presently witnessing a surge in demand for talent, with job openings ranging from 50,000 to 60,000 across various roles, including developers, programmers, testers, artists, and customer support.
• Demand for talent:
  • The number of professional players will grow by 2.5 times over the next five years from 500 in 2023 on the back of recognition by the government of esports and various state government-led initiatives to develop talent around esports.
  • The report estimates that India has a consumer base of around 568 million gamers and is home to approximately 15,000 game developers and programmers. 
• Demographic trends:
  • Approximately 40% of the gaming populace in India is made up of women, whereas three years ago, only one in five gamers in India were women.
  • Among the gaming community, nearly 50% fall within the age bracket of 18 to 30 years. 
  • Conversely, the report found that about 30% of Indian gamers are between 31 and 45 years old, and their gaming preferences lean towards strategy games.
• Game downloads:
  • From 2019 to 2023, game downloads in India soared from 5.65 billion to a staggering 9.5 billion. 
  • This growth propelled India's share of global game downloads to a substantial 16% in 2023, followed by Brazil and the US with 4.5 billion (7.6% market share) and 4.4 billion (7.4% market share) downloads, respectively.
• Mobile dominance:
  • Mobile gaming accounts for 90% of the Indian gaming market, compared to around 37% and about 62% in the US and China, respectively.
  • The growth in smartphones to over 820 million, driven by affordability, increased phone memory by 3-4 times in the past five years, and low-priced data, will be key growth drivers for the Indian gaming industry.

• Cost advantage:
  • On average, game development costs in India can be up to 50-60% lower than those in Western countries, making it an exceptionally attractive outsourcing destination.