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Illustration: Binay Sinha
With 442 million gamers, India is the second-largest gaming market in the world behind China, but when it comes to games developed in India for global gamers, there are few major titles.
Hence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort holds significance for game developers in the country.
“I am seeing a big market that has come up in the field of gaming, but even today, the gaming world has a big foreign impact in terms of producing the games and earning revenues. India has a big heritage in the area, and we can bring lots of new talent to the world of gaming,” the PM said in his speech on India’s 78th Independence Day.
Modi’s remark that India’s children, youth, IT professionals, and AI professionals need to lead the world of gaming, not only in terms of playing games but also in producing them for the entire world, is crucial.
Several gaming analysts and companies agree with the PM.
According to Anuraag Saxena, CEO of industry body E-Gaming Federation (EGF), India has about 40 per cent of the world’s games, with less than 1 per cent of gaming revenues.
“We need to build a stronger foundation of talent and skills. Skilling is an integral part of India’s AVGC policy. Premier institutes like IIMs and IITs should now look at curriculums and pedagogies that are oriented towards future skills, rather than skills of the past,” he said.
India’s ‘AAA’ moment
After years of working for US-based studios and other global majors, Indian gaming studios are finally taking steps to create India’s own AAA games/titles—a classification that signifies high-budget, high-profile games typically distributed and produced by large publishers.
Popular AAA games include titles like Minecraft, GTA 5, Call of Duty, and Fortnite, among others.
“The whole idea is that making products in India and selling them to the world is phenomenally lucrative. This (export) has been going on, but unfortunately, real-money gaming has cornered most of the interest in India. But there are some purist studios around which are still pursuing this export idea, and we’re one of them,” said Alok Kejriwal, co-founder and CEO, Games2win—a company developing casual games for mobile.
Pune-based SuperGaming is another studio working on a big-budget title. The company recently rolled out the beta for its battle royale game Indus Battle Royale on Google Play for Android users, garnering an immense 12 million pre-registrations.
Similarly, Mayhem Studios, a Mobile Premier League (MPL)-backed game developer, announced the closed beta launch of its battle royale game Underworld Gang Wars (UGW) earlier this year.
Other emerging studios, such as LightFury Games—a promising new gaming startup that recently secured $8.5 million in funding—are also working on producing AAA titles.
“The market has been largely dominated by foreign titles due to a lack of homegrown games. The Indian government’s recent push for local game development is a crucial step in bridging this gap,” said Shiva Nandy, founder and CEO of e-sports firm Skyesports.
Job creation
The Indian gaming industry is expected to grow to $8.92 billion in the next five years, says a recent report by Grant Thornton Bharat and the E-Gaming Federation (EGF).
Another reason why the gaming sector found mention in the PM’s speech is the potential for job creation. There are as many as 15,000 game developers and programmers in the country at the moment, and the industry is also playing a vital role in job creation.
Workforce growth in the gaming sector has increased 20-fold from 2018 to 2023, with a remarkable 97.56 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the same period, according to a report by Primus Partners.
“We believe that online gaming will be one of the cornerstones of the $1 trillion digital economy. In the coming years, we expect to see many more Indian developers ‘Make in India for the world.’ This vision aligns with the government’s broader goals of fostering innovation, creating job opportunities, and positioning India as a leader in the global digital landscape,” said Roland Landers, CEO of industry body All India Gaming Federation (AIGF).
However, mobile gaming still accounts for as much as 90 per cent of the Indian gaming market. As such, real-money games (RMG) such as fantasy sports and rummy still corner most of the demand.
The RMG sector, which found initial success in India’s nascent gaming market due to its high margins, continues to account for 83-84 per cent of the total gaming revenue, with approximately 100 million online gamers daily, including 90 million who are paying to play, the EGF report said.
Despite the potential of the gaming industry and the availability of talent, funding remains a challenge for gaming firms. The development of AAA games, especially, is a capital-intensive process.
Games2win’s Kejriwal also points out a lack of culture and respect for gaming in the country as a major hurdle.
“Neither do we have a product culture in India nor an entertainment culture for gaming. Parents usually discourage their children from engaging in things like gaming and entertainment. Until one consumes a product, one cannot become an expert in it,” he said.
First Published: Aug 15 2024 | 7:53 PM IST
