If we look back ten years earlier, 75% of the smartphone penetration in India was dominated by variants priced below ₹10,000. These entry-level phones were not feature-rich but proved to be the entry point for millions of new gamers in India. A decade later, mobile phones continue to be the lifeline for gaming in India. Be it a rummy game download or playing casual games, Indians continue to download the highest number of gaming apps in the world.
Gaming in India has increased from a mere ₹23.5 billion in 2014 to nearly ₹270 billion in 2024. Millions of Indian gamers are now enjoying almost every gaming category under the sun – from playing rummy online to multiplayer online games. Many events and milestones stand out during the decade behind this growth and progress.
Indian Gaming: A Decade Ago
By 2014, industry watchers had spotted the specific potential of the Indian gaming market. It was an era when casual games, puzzles and racing were the traditional favourites. The expectation was that shooting, action, arcade and sports-based games would become the next big things. In hindsight, most of it turned out to be true.
The importance of mobile phones in gaming was easy for all to see, even 10 years ago. India was the fastest-growing smartphone market in India, with more than 80 million smartphones shipped to the country during the calendar year 2014.
Things were starting to pick up on the development front as well. In 2014, an Indian indie game, Petite, won the best story award in Singapore, while another called Dynetzzle finished second at the NGF Indie Game of the Year awards. A Teen Patti app garnered 32 million users within months of its launch in 2015, becoming one of the top five-grossing games on the Google Play Store. These developments inspired platforms like RummyCulture to test the popularity of rummy online. The platform clocked millions of rummy game downloads and even got a Guinness World Record to its name for the largest live tournament footfall.
India was gaining prominence as an outsourcing hub for global gaming giants like EA, Ubisoft and Zynga. In 2016, two Indian cousins, Yash Pariani and Krish Galani, started the Indian Gaming League with a city-based franchise model similar to cricket’s Indian Premier League.
By 2018, Indians were downloading 2.8 billion game apps in six months. Nasscom had predicted that the Indian gaming industry would break the $1 billion barrier by 2020, which it did in 2021. By the end of the last decade, the industry had well and truly picked momentum.
A Look at the Last Few Years
The influence of the pandemic on gaming was evident almost immediately. In October 2020, it was reported that the number of gamers in India had risen to an astounding 365 million. A FICCI and Ernst & Young report observed that online gaming in India grew by 40% during 2019-20.
Mukesh Ambani correctly predicted in 2020 that gaming would overtake traditional entertainment mediums to become the most popular one. In April 2020, the Clash Royale Tournament was launched, quickly garnering 11,000 registrations and 70,000 viewers in live streams. Game streaming and e-sports app Loco saw a six-fold growth in daily active users in 2020. In 2021, the popular rummy platform RummyCulture reported a consistent 30% year-on-year user base growth. The platform also hosted the popular Indian Rummy League.
Thus, as we come closer to present times, we notice that the growth of Indian gaming was all-encompassing. All forms, such as real-money games, fantasy leagues and e-sport events, had impressive numbers.
Continued Growth: In Numbers
The number of gamers in India continues to see a steady rise. From 397 million in FY22, it increased to 425 million in FY23 and more than 443 million in FY24. At this rate, the number of gamers will cross 500 million in FY27 and could be close to 540 million by FY28.
The industry revenue continues to expand as well. From the $1 billion barrier breached in 2021, revenue more than doubled to stand at $2.2 billion in 2023. As the average revenue per user increases, the revenue CAGR is expected to be over 27% in the short term. By 2028, the 540 million gamers could result in a gaming revenue of $8.6 billion!
The growth of the industry is also proving to be beneficial to the country’s economy. It is estimated that nearly one lakh individuals are directly or indirectly employed through the gaming industry. Looking at the decade ahead, the gaming industry can generate another 2.5 lakh jobs across roles like developers, testers, animation artists, e-sports organisers, marketing professionals, etc.
In Conclusion
It is worth noting that all of the industry development has happened with challenges like a steep tax regime and the absence of a well-defined regulatory framework. As these challenges are addressed and technological innovations make gaming more refined and sophisticated, gaming in India can continue to bloom for years to come.
