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Esports revenue grew by 29 per cent from Rs 7.5 billion in 2020 to Rs 9.7 billion in 2021
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The online gaming segment is expected to reach Rs 153 billion by 2024 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent to become the fourth largest segment of the Indian media and entertainment sector, driven by innovations across NFTs, the metaverse and esports, according to FICCI-EY report.
The report named "Tuning into consumer" mentioned that the number of esports players doubled from 300,000 in 2020 to 600,000 in 2021. Esports revenue grew by 29 per cent from Rs 7.5 billion in 2020 to Rs 9.7 billion in 2021.
Esports teams also grew by over 50 per cent from 60,000 in 2020 to 100,000 in 2021. Meanwhile, the total prize money in 2021 crossed Rs 200 million and there is also a meteoric rise in viewership, from 600,000 hours in 2020 to 2 million hours in 2021, as per the report.
"The growth seen in esports is expected to continue in 2022, with the number of players reaching 1 million, out of which 20 per cent would be women. India is expected to have 10 international esports teams by 2022," it added.
Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India and Vice President, Asian Esports Federation (AESF) said, "As esports continues to integrate into popular sports culture, government, global investors, brands, media outlets, and consumers are all paying attention to the rise in popularity of esports in India. As we launched NESC'22, the national qualifiers to select the Indian esports contingent for the upcoming Asian Games 2022, we are committed to developing, supporting and growing the esports ecosystem in India.