The young population including Gen Z is predominately one of the major driving forces behind the rapid growth of gaming in India. Moreover, the growth is largely attributed to the affordability of smartphones, PC hardware and connectivity that is strengthening this sector. India has undoubtedly become the hub of gaming since the gamers have started playing in the big gaming tournaments on domestic as well as international levels. The market players who provide gaming platforms to young gamers are playing an instrumental role in their journey and helping gamers to scale up their gaming skills. One of such esports platforms Ultimate Battle is serving the fast-growing esports community. In a quest to get insights about the Indian gaming industry, Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal held exclusive interaction with Mr. Tarun Gupta, Founder, Ultimate Battle. He elaborated about the growth of the gaming industry, key trends, and their efforts in empowering the gaming community. Read below the excerpts:
Rajeev: How has the pandemic changed the gaming industry in India in the last year?
Tarun Gupta: During the Pandemic, Esports got the much-needed exposure and we can all see that gaming is slowly heading towards the mainstream. With people staying at home and looking for entertainment, gaming witnessed a steep growth during the pandemic. Our business analytics also witnessed a dramatic spike in the overall performance metrics in terms of both acquisitions and user engagement. I would also like to add that gaming is now being considered a viable career option.
Rajeev: Being a One-Stop Online Esports Platform, what is your vision from here? How are you working to help gaming enthusiasts in getting exposure on a large scale?
Tarun Gupta: Ultimate Battle’s vision is to provide the gaming community with an ecosystem that becomes a one-stop experience for Gamers. Besides Gameplay, Ultimate Battle offers multiple engagement fronts to our gamers in the form of Social Networking, AIEL (Esports League), News Portal, and The Game Shop.
All India Esports League (AIEL) is currently one of our top priorities to deliver a great competitive gaming experience for pan-India audiences. This will provide an opportunity for Indian players to showcase their skills, gain rewards, as well as recognition in the community. AIEL is expected to launch this year with multiple Esports title games like COD, Free Fire, Battlegrounds Mobile India, and more including Chess.
Rajeev: What are the key trends that are driving the Indian eSports market? What is the expected market size by end of 2021?
Tarun Gupta: As per industry reports, India currently has around 365 million Indian gamers across mobile, PC, and console which is projected to reach 410 million by the end of 2021 according to industry estimates. This growth in the number of gamers will fuel the esports industry in a whole new way. These are some key trends that are driving the growth of the industry:
1. Mobile gaming: India is a mobile-centric market and the number of gamers playing on mobile devices will keep on growing in the coming years.
2. Esports Platform/Leagues: Competitive gaming has become widely popular and its credit goes to top league organizers and esports platforms catering to the requirement of gamers.
3. Content creation: Content has always been the king. As we have seen in the past a lot of content creators and streamers have made a fortune. We expect to see a whole new breed of content creators cropping up who will help take gaming content to the next level in India.
Rajeev: How is the easy availability of internet and gaming equipment proving to be an essential factor for driving the interest of youth towards gaming?
Tarun Gupta: Accessibility to affordable technology will always be the main defining factor for the growth of the gaming industry. Affordability of hardware and internet connectivity will form the backbone of the gaming industry, without which the gaming industry will fall apart. The youth of any nation is financially restricted and if the accessibility to the essentials is easy it changes everything. India seems to be doing a good job as far as this is concerned. The launch of the 5G network will only further boost internet connectivity and create a conducive environment for the gaming space.
Rajeev: How is the young population of India might be a fuelling factor for the gaming industry? How do you see the engagement of youth in large-scale gaming tournaments?
Tarun Gupta: India has a relatively young population, with the majority of Indians falling in the age group of 0-25. With the availability of cheap smartphones and good internet infrastructure, the more and more young population is getting exposed to gaming as a form of entertainment.
Young millennials are spending more time playing games as they have access to gaming devices from a young age. With the advent of competitive gaming, young players are interacting more with each other and looking at venues to showcase their skills. This can be vividly seen with lakhs of registration for PAN India events along with the rising of esports viewership in India in 2021 to 17 million. We see esports growing at a fast pace in coming years with the more young audiences joining in competing as well as watching large-scale events.
