E-sports players in India grew four times from 150,000 in 2021 to 600,000 in 2022, according to a report titled 'State of India Gaming Report 2022’.
The report released by Lumikai and Amazon Web Services, highlights that the Indian e-sports industry grew to $40 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $140 million by 2027 at a CAGR of 32 per cent. The number of e-sports players in India grew 4x from 0.15 million in 2021 to 0.6 million in 2022, and is expected to grow 2.5x over the next five years to reach 1.5 million by 2027. E-sports revenue at $0.04 billion is a small segment currently but is fast growing at 32 per cent CAGR through to 2027.
The report highlights that 64 per cent of paying gamers make in-app purchases; 50 per cent of Indian gamers surveyed are between the ages of 18-30.
According to the report, women on average spend more time per week playing games (11.2 hours/week) as compared to men (10.2 hours/week)
On the number of gamers willing to pay, the report said that 50 per cent of paying gamers are willing to pay for casual games, followed by 48 per cent for mid-core and 39 per cent for hyper-casual and RMG.
80 per cent of Indian gamers are keen on Indian-themed games. The report highlights that 82 per cent of gamers are interested in playing games based on Indian mythology, and even 43 per cent of non-gamers are more inclined to start gaming if games are based on Indian themes like Ramayana. 79 per cent of gamers are interested in playing games based on Indian themes and history, whereas 78 per cent gamers are interested in playing games based on Indian celebrities.
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The report surveyed over 2,240 smartphone users across multiple demographics and geographics and found that India’s gamer demographics demonstrate a diversity of play styles and geographies.
The report further said that 98 per cent play games on smartphones, with 23 per cent playing on PCs/laptops and 14 per cent on gaming consoles.
56 per cent of gamers surveyed came from non-metros, while midcore and hardcore categories provided the highest percentage of metros users at 53 per cent and 59 per cent respectively. 60 per cent of gamers surveyed were men, with 40 per cent being women.
Among the reasons to choose gaming, relaxation is the top motivator for gamers with over 50 per cent, followed by making money (13 per cent), killing time (12 per cent), and socialising (11 per cent).
The survey revealed that 48 per cent of non-gamers chose casual games (examples of casual games - Ludo King, Candy Crush) as their most preferred game category to play in the future, with 35 per cent of gamers acknowledging that they have increased their time spent gaming in the last 12 months.
