Indian gaming market hits $2.6 billion: Paying users & funding look up

In FY2022, India became the largest consumer of mobile games with 15 billion downloads. Mid-core games (like BGMI, Free Fire) became the fastest growing gaming category achieving a growth of 32%, grossing combined revenues of ~US$550 million.

Now, according to Lumikai, an Indian gaming-focused venture capital fund, India has crossed the half-a-billion mark with 507 million gamers, out of which, 120 million, almost one-fourth, are paying users.

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Also, Indians don’t mind paying for games. Nearly 48% of gamers spend money on mid-core games. 65% of paying gamers claim they have engaged in in-app purchases at least once.

Indian gaming companies are on track to raise US$513 million for the calendar year ’22. Gaming sector funding is up 380% from 2019 and up 23% from 2020.

Web3 has emerged as an increasingly popular technology in games, with 30% of 450 Indian Web3 companies operating in gaming. Web3 games in India have raised ~US$ 400 million in funding (2019-22).

Indian gaming companies are on track to raise US$513 million for the calendar year ’22. Gaming sector funding is up 380% from 2019 and up 23% from 2020

India-based content is growing in popularity with 80% of gamers showing a proclivity to play games based on Indian intellectual property. In addition, the number of female gamers in India is on the rise. The male-female ratio of surveyed gamers yielded a 60-40 ratio, equally split between metro and non-metro cities.

It’s no wonder that big foreign brands in the esports sector are eyeing India as a potentially big market. Recently, BMM Testlabs, a global gaming test lab and product certification consultancy, formally opened its newest office and product testing laboratory in India in November 2022. The new office is located in Cybercity, the technology hub that hosts the largest IT and Fortune 500 companies in Gurgaon, India.

India-based content is growing in popularity with 80% of gamers showing a proclivity to play games based on Indian intellectual property

Martin Storm, Executive Chairman and CEO, commented, “India offers BMM the opportunity of enormous scale with technology prowess and intellectual capital, and we are opening the Gurgaon office with more than 50 trained staff. BMM now employs an excess of 600 staff worldwide across 15 global locations and serves over 470 gaming jurisdictions. We are grateful to our customers around the world for the opportunity to grow our business with them, and now extend our services from this strategic technology market in India.”

Read more: Indian esports can learn from Australian grassroots development

In October, Cybeart, a Canadian gaming chair brand, has set its foot in India to expand the brand’s footprints in the country. A vital part of Cybeart’s expansion plans in India has been inspired by the various studies that indicate India’s rank among the highest in the world with employees working up to 48 hours a week and these long working hours being connected with posture issues and other health problems.

“We want to create and fulfil niche brand requirements by providing a sense of relaxation after long working hours,” said Krutik Patel, Founder of Cybeart.