Mobile gaming in India is a fast-growing industry. According to industry reports, the country’s gaming industry is expected to double the growth from today’s 1.2 billion US dollars to 3 billion US dollars in 2023. The industry estimates that the number of mobile game players in India is set at 365 million.

Throughout the pandemic, the popularity of online games in India has accelerated. During the lockdown period, the average time spent on mobile phones has increased from 2.5 hours in the pre-COVID era to 4.1 hours. According to a report by Deloitte, India has a 13% share of global game sessions, making it one of the top five game markets in the world.

In order to better understand this emerging industry, on Friday, July 23, Adgully’s flagship #TwitterChat #GullyChat focused on “What makes India the #1 mobile gaming market”. A game expert group composed of the following people participated in the discussion:
● Nitin Goel, Country Manager, Indian Sub-Continent, Gameloft
● Ritesh Ujjwal, CEO & Co-founder, Kofluence
● Rohit Agarwal, Founder & Director at AlphaZegus
● Roland Landers, President, All India Gaming Federation

How big is the mobile gaming business in India?
Rohit Agarwal pointed out: “We are not only talking about the base of more than 350 million mobile gamers, but we also see that more than 40% of the audience are gamers, and more than 70% of gamers show a very promising path, whether in diversity and consistency.

Ritesh Ujjwal expressed her confidence in the strong growth of the Indian gaming industry, commenting that the industry is currently valued at US$1.5 billion and one-third of the population belongs to Generation Z.
Nitin Goel said, “The Indian gaming industry is finally on the cusp of hockey stick growth. We are talking about 350 million to 450 million users, generating more than $1.5 billion in revenue.”

“RealMoney, Fantasy Gaming took off very sharply in the last 2-3 years. However, IAP, which is the bedrock of Mobile Gaming revenue, is still low at $300. With changing spending patterns on Indian consumers, we expect it to grow to $1 billion in the next 2 years”

Roland Landers expressed his thoughts on how big India’s gaming industry is: “There are approximately 350 million players and approximately US$1.5 billion in revenue.”

What is the growth rate of this industry?
Agarwal said: “During the closing period, a large number of Indian audiences discovered that gaming is a new form of entertainment. Although the compound annual growth rate from 2014 to 2020 was 21%, it is now expected to exceed 40% per year.”

According to Ujjwal, “Last year’s growth rate was about 40%, and the compound annual growth rate for the next five years will be about the early to mid-1930s.”

Goel added here: “We expect the compound annual growth rate of the entire gaming industry to exceed 30%, and the growth of e-sports is disproportionate. Although the foundation is low, cloud gaming will bring disruption with the introduction of 5G. RealMoney tailwind Good luck, although negative views are difficult to control.”

Landers pointed out: “As per the #EY #M&E report for #FICCI2021, it was 21% over last year in revenues and double-digit growth in a number of #gamers.”

Smartphones and mobile data becoming cheaper, more powerful, and more accessible to consumers are the key reasons behind the growth of the Indian mobile gaming industry. In addition, experts said that games are considered an “interactive” form of entertainment that can be consumed by people of all ages.

Credits: HT Tech