While the pandemic year gave a truly necessary lift to the gaming market in India, the previous year saw Indians ready to pay to play. The year added 24 million Indians to the payment-linked gaming market, say experts.

In fact, Yash Srivastava, Managing Director (APAC) of the gaming platform – Coda Payments, insisted, “India will move from being a player market to a payer market. This transition will be driven by microtransactions (Challenges ahead
The developing ubiquity has put the focus on the industry and not all the consideration is to its benefit. Huge loss of money on gaming platforms has turned gamers cautious, yet in addition, brought the industry under government examination. ” Few state governments like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc. have banned even games of skill as there is a potential possibility of a user losing money,” said Maryada.

In Tamil Nadu, a gaming organization figured out how to get a positive decision from the Madras High Court against the proposed blanket prohibition on games. “Banning activities is never a solution and banning will only encourage offshore gaming,” argued Asish Philip Abraham, Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys.

The industry is, instead, open to being directed and protected from the vagaries of government interpretations. “What we are asking for is a light touch regulation, underpinned by consumer welfare,” said Dhruv Garg, a Delhi-based lawyer practicing technology law and policy, comparing the gaming industry with the OTT industry in India.

Another worry is the proposed changes in the incidence of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the industry. According to Landers, the proposed change of GST rate from 18% on Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) to 28% on Gross Gaming Value (GGV) will have an impact of as high as 1100% on the business, and 300% on gamers.

The popular
Industry spectators say the mid-core and strategy games like Free Fire, BGMI, and Clash of Clans, are the most pursued games. They are persuaded these “Battle Royale” games will likewise be the greatest drivers of 2023.
“Users are spending over 60 minutes per day on such games taking into consideration the competitive nature of the games,” said Maryada. Another class that is doing great incorporates casual-style games like Carroms, Candy Crush, and Ludo, which have been growing exponentially year by year.

The outlook
As per experts, India, which was known as the “download, or eyeball market” will become a global hub for game development with high-quality games being developed in the country. “The future of game development will become more content creator-led, community-led and focussed,” said Rishi Alwani, a gaming industry insider. With the emergence of the metaverse, games are expected to become a social platform and give e-sports a big push to drastically change the user experience, said Kashyap Reddy, Co-Founder, of Hitwicket, a gaming company.

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