Esports was a relatively new term in India a few years ago and now, in 2024, the term is a part of a lot of conversations that take place on social media and in-person. Even the Prime Minister of the country, Mr. Narendra Modi is trying to understand what this world is all about. In three separate conversations, the Prime Minister also talked to gamers and then about the growing gaming sector.
Since gaming started with PCs in most countries, including India, accessibility became a cause of concern for many who liked the idea of gaming but could not invest a hefty amount into building a PC. This is where the culture of gaming cafes stepped in. Most Indian metro cities have a huge gaming cafe culture, most of which have esports competitions. However, due to inaccessibility, the growth of PC gaming was restricted. Thus, the growth of esports in India is attributed to the influx of smartphone usage in the country.
Image Credits: PM Narendra Modi YouTube Channel
The growing esports industry, backed by technology, is projected to be a 140 million U.S. dollar market by 2027 and will have over 600 thousand players, as per a report by Statista.
Additionally, Niko Partners has called India as the fastest growing gaming market that it tracks, and the total number of gamers are set to surpass China by 2028.
PC esports started before mobile esports, and naturally faced controversies before it, as well. One of the most famous ones is the 2018 Forsaken controversy. Nikhil ‘Forsaken’ Kumawat, who played for OpTic India was banned by the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) for using hacks at the ESL India Premiership. Valve eventually banned him for five years and the incident came to be known as word.exe based on the name of the file that was found on his PC.
ESIC also confirmed that Forsaken was the only one cheating on his team and none of the other players were. This was the second time Forsaken was banned. The initial ban was for a few months and after this, he received a ban for five years.
It has been five years since Forsaken was banned and his ban is now over. However, Forsaken has not returned to esports or if we may…esports has left him behind and changed how they would handle cheaters in the PC esports community.
The mobile esports community started booming with the arrival of PUBG Mobile in the country. With the help of smartphones, mobile esports and gaming started breaking geographical boundaries and reached people of all kinds of ages and socio-economic backgrounds.
This initiated an effect that led to the birth of one of the biggest niches of revenue in the country. Not only is it backed by game developers, but it’s also backed by a lot of investors who are willing to invest millions in the niche.
Recently, a top tournament organizer, Skyesports said that they would be announcing a prize pool of $2.5 million or Rs 20 crore across multiple titles. Over the years, Skyesports has invested in creating an ecosystem for titles besides the Indian version of PUBG Mobile, BGMI. On the PC front, they have hosted tournaments for VALORANT, CS: GO and CS2. In mobile gaming, they have hosted events and tournaments for Pokémon Unite, and BGMI. They have also hosted qualifiers for Pokémon Unite Worlds 2024 with a team representing India on the global stage.
Image Credits: Nodwin Gaming
Not just this, BGMI esports gained so much traction and viewership that Nodwin Gaming, another tournament organizer took the title to television. The BGMI Master Series became the first BGMI tournament to make it to television. The event was watched by millions and esports and sports lovers enjoyed the action and thrill of BGMI. This was a stage for all young talents to prove to the one who told them they couldn’t make a career out of esports.
In the last five years since the gaming industry started rising, India has competed at the global stage. The first medal that India won was at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Tirth Mehta won the Bronze medal at the esports demonstration event for Hearthstone.
This was just the start of a very promising esports culture. Before PUBG Mobile was banned in the country, the esports ecosystem was flourishing and India had hosted multiple Championships that would give players a direct ticket to compete on the global stage against the top 16 teams from the globe. OR Esports won second place in the PUBG Mobile World League 2020: East and the game reached its peak before it was banned.
Image Credits: ESFI
Around this time, Riot Games launched VALORANT and a lot of players who were competing in CS: GO, moved to VALORANT before BGMI was launched, the game gained a lot of popularity and quickly turned into a well-known esports title in the country. Eventually, India got its own VALORANT franchised team, Global Esports.
After the setback of PUBG Mobile’s ban in the country, a lot of aspiring and seasoned players didn’t have much to look forward to. It was then announced that the 2022 Commonwealth Games would feature esports. Indian DOTA 2 team was gearing up to take part in the event and won the Bronze Medal in DOTA 2, defeating New Zealand 2-0.
In 2023, the government of India officially recognised esports as a sport. Giving it a legitimate status in the country. After this recognition, esports falls under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Gaming, which includes everything under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Steps have been taken to differentiate between gaming and esports.
Not just male gamers, but female gamers have also represented the country at international esports events. India women’s CS: GO team played at the Riyadh Asian Qualifiers for the 15th World Esports Championships.
This flourishing industry is backed by big names and the ecosystem is growing. Big players like Krafton, Riot Games, JetSynthesys, YouTube, and Reliance Digital have backed the industry for a long time. These names are the ones uplifting the industry by investing in the game, in tournaments, and streaming these tournaments for an audience who enjoys playing the game and watching it, too.
However, the lockdown in the country forced everyone to shift focus and stay inside. With sports coming to a standstill, esports took the onus upon itself to keep the sports-loving audience engaged and the online tournaments continued, but the LAN culture in esports was no longer allowed. However, the investors showed their trust in esports when the lockdown was over. The first LAN after the lockdown was lifted saw the attendance of almost 3,500 people, cheering in the arena for their favorite players.
These investors have been backing the game online and have been creating an environment of a LAN where the audience will be able to attend these events and watch their favorite players compete in front of them. Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India, has also put some statistics to show that BGMI esports is growing in the country. These statistics show that 54,000 people attended the BGMI LAN and garnered over 110 million views online in 2023. These numbers are just expected to grow in the coming years.
Ever since the games were broadcast, they have been backed by streaming platforms like YouTube, LOCO, and Rooter. Additionally, Reliance Digital’s Jio Cinema has also streamed a variety of mobile esports and contributed to the growth of this niche.
Streaming platforms created another side of esports and gaming: Content Creation. On these streaming platforms, gamers play and stream their gaming sessions. This has extended to esports players as well in India. They use this as a platform to engage with their audience, get their feedback and play with them.
This is a good way for players to interact with their audience, talk to them, and create content for them about the game. A few of the most watched esports titles in India are BGMI, Valorant, Call of Duty, and FIFA. With India taking part in or inviting other countries to take part in each of these, the audience keeps multiplying month after month, increasing the revenue earned by both publishers and the platform.
Taking content creation to a different level is a content group, S8UL Esports, which has also won two trophies at the Esports Awards for being the best content creators and the best content group in 2022, and 2023. Other content groups and creators are also spending time making gaming content. esports players often post highlights of the matches they won to engage their audience. Individual gaming creators have also supported the industry with their unmatched talent and engaging videos that have inspired them to take gaming and esports as a career in India.
Driven by a young audience that is growing up with the esports title, the athletes, and creators, of gaming and esports have leapt forward from just being a hobby to being a niche that is generating employability. With the government initiating conversations about esports and giving it the space it deserves, the future is brighter for this budding sector.
With the growth of esports, there is an upward trajectory in the ways in which esports impact people and also create employment within areas that are related to gaming, and that go beyond just being an athlete: professional gaming, journalism, game development, coaching, event management, and broadcasting. Additionally, with multitudes of avenues opening up for this niche, esports in India are bound to flourish. We also take into account the issues that are present at the ground level. If all of these things are in check, India can be the next big hub for esports.
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