As per a KPMG report, the total online gaming user base in India crossed the 400 million mark in the month of July. Even though casual gaming is still the biggest sector in the online gaming market with estimated revenues of INR 36bn – 39bn in 2020, real money gaming is also experiencing a surge, with estimated revenues of INR 25bn – 30bn in 2020. Over 90% of the real money gaming revenue comes via mobile gaming.

Esports is still a minuscule segment in the online gaming market, but certainly possesses huge potential & seeing increased attention from abroad.

“Esports, as a category, is poised for massive growth in India,” All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) CEO Roland Landers said in the report. “This is evident from the multiple platforms starting to emerge alongside growing interest from international players in an evolving ecosystem driven by growth in the number of professional gamers in India.”

“The success of PUBG has made the gaming ecosystem realize that India is ripe for monetization,” it wrote.

“Post launch of PUBG Mobile, mobile game downloads have increased by 8 to 10 times,” Niko Partners Director for Southeast Asia Research, Darang Candra, said.

“The ban on PUBG Mobile didn’t just impact players of the game, it also impacted the fast-growing esports and influencer ecosystems as numerous Indian Youtubers and esports pros had built massive followings through playing PUBG Mobile,” Darang said.

Darang quoted data from Sensor Tower stating that the PUBG ban resulted in iOS & Google Play game revenues in India shrinking by 9% in the period of August 2020 – September 2020, in complete contrast to a 5% growth rate during August 2019 – September 2019.