India might not traditionally be thought of as a country with a strong gaming industry, but times are changing. In recent years, India has become one of the fastest-growing markets for gaming and is increasingly becoming a destination for game development companies to set up shop. A combination of a young population, excellent internet access and a huge talent pool of developers have made India one of the brightest prospects when it comes to game development.
Now, the number of game development companies in India is growing, more big-name studios and online casinos are looking to set up offices in the country. While countries like China and the US might still be world leaders for game development, India is fast becoming one of the most important countries when it comes to gaming.
Indian Game Development
According to analysts, the gaming industry in India is expected to grow by more than 40% in 2021. This growth is partly fuelled by domestic demand, with India one of the biggest mobile gaming markets in the world. However, Indian game development companies don’t just produce games for Indian people to enjoy. Some of the biggest AAA releases from the last few years have included work by Indian game studios. Game development studios all over the world are increasingly collaborating with studios in India, who are skilled at everything from level and asset design to world creation and art.
As well as a growing number of Indian game development studios, many big studios have invested in Indian gaming, opening their own studios in the country or investing in existing studios. Internationally recognised video game studios with offices in India include Ubisoft, Rockstar, EA and Zynga. Companies that have invested in the Indian game development industry include Microsoft, Disney, Sony and much more.
Why is Gaming So Popular in India?
Gaming, and particularly mobile gaming, is very popular in India for a number of reasons. The main reasons why the video game market has taken off in the country are:
• Greater accessibility – Video games are now more accessible than ever before to Indian players thanks to the growing number of smartphone users in the country as well as improvements in 5G networks. The majority of gamers in India play primarily on mobile devices, so cheaper smartphones and mobile data have meant that Indians are downloading and playing games more than ever before.
• A younger population – 50% of the population of India is below the age of 25, making it one of the youngest populations of any country. Thanks to a younger population combined with a rising national salary and higher disposable income mean that more Indians are enjoying video games than ever before.
• eSports – The popularisation of eSports around the world has been linked to a growing interest in video games, and these competitive video game tournaments are also getting very popular in India. The country now has some of the world’s best players, and with streams available to watch online for free, lots of Indians are watching these eSports events.
Indian eSports
Thanks to a growing interest in video games, India also has a growing eSports industry, with lots of Indian teams making the top tournaments as well as plenty of Indian based events and leagues starting up. Viewership of eSports in India doubled in 2020 to around 17 million people, and signs point towards a healthy future for the Indian competitive gaming scene. Top Indian eSports players include:
Ankit Panth – Better known as V3nom, Panth is one of the world’s best Counter-Strike players and has won some of the biggest titles since he started playing professionally.
Saransh Jain – Jain made his fame and fortune playing FIFA professionally, and while he has since retired, he was considered as one of the best in the world at a time and one of the best FIFA players to ever come from India.
Krish Gupta – Krish Gupta, known as his moniker Moon, started playing Dota 2 at a young age and quickly released he could turn professional. While he’s only been a professional player for a short time, Gupta has already had a lot of success and hopes to represent India at the Olympics playing eSports someday.
