India's Gaming Market Expected to Reach $9.2 Billion in Five Years

The Indian gaming industry has experienced a significant surge in revenue, with a 23% increase in the last fiscal year, reaching $3.8 billion. According to a report by Lumikai, a venture capital firm based in India, the gaming market is expected to nearly triple in the next five years, reaching $9.2 billion by the end of the 2029 fiscal year. The report, created in collaboration with Google and Deloitte, is based on a survey of 2,269 Indian smartphone users. Mobile games account for 30% of India's $12.5 billion new media market, with games revenues being nearly level with the $3.9 billion from video content. The Indian games market has been plagued by misconceptions, with the data demonstrating that the industry is much broader than previously thought. The report highlights that India is the world's second-largest mobile games market, with 15.2 billion downloads in the year ending March 31, 2024. The total number of players rose by 4% to 591 million in the past year. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the growth of mobile gaming in India, with the lockdowns helping to boost mobile games and draw revenue and players away from real-money games. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has also played a significant role in unlocking free-to-play gaming, with 83% of survey respondents preferring to use UPI for in-game purchases. The report notes that 64% of users who pay for real-money games also spent on midcore titles in the past year, with 25% of all gamers surveyed saying they have spent money on games. The average revenue per paying user rose 15% year-on-year, driven by the rise of midcore games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India, Clash of Clans, and Garena's Free Fire Max. The report also highlights that 66% of paying users buy in-game currency, while 61% buy performance-based upgrades. The Indian gaming audience is not largely male, urban, and affluent, as previously thought, with 44% of women playing video games and 66% of gamers based in non-metro cities. Most Indian gamers use lower-end mobile devices, with 43% using smartphones that cost between $200 and $400. The report concludes that there are plenty of opportunities for both India-based games firms and overseas publishers, with 60% of gamers wanting to see games that represent local culture and language. Overseas publishers, especially from the West, need to adapt to the Indian market by localizing their games, partnering with local celebrities, and integrating local characters.