Gaming and interactive media fund, Lumikai released the 3rd edition of their annual State of India Gaming Report, in collaboration with Google. The report was launched by Salone Sehgal and Justin Shriram Keeling, Founding General Partners, Lumikai at the 15th India Game Developers Conference (IGDC) in Hyderabad.
According to the report the Indian gaming market is expected to hit the $7.5 billion valuation mark by FY28. The report cited several interesting insights that show the significant growth in the last few years.
The data decoded in the report showed the shift from being one of the emerging markets to now being a key market in the world driven by faster download speeds, rapid smartphone penetration, and affordable data. Increasing affinity towards byte-sized entertainment and participation in interactive communities have also been key drivers in the growth of gaming across the country. The report anticipates a robust growth rate of 20 per cent CAGR, driven by increasing in-app purchases and advertising revenues in casual and mid-core games.
The data also sheds light on India’s global position as one of the leading countries globally for total mobile game downloads. Over 50 per cent per cent of all Indian internet users account for the gaming population in the country. This number grew by 12 per cent in FY23, according to the report. The data also highlighted how the average time spent on gaming increased by 20 per cent, to 10-12 hours per gamer per week.
The projected growth trajectory counters the narrative of a decline in in-app purchases following the suspension of top Battle Royale games, BGMI and Free Fire. Notably in-app revenue outside of BGMI and Free Fire witnessed a 37 per cent year-on-year surge. This was seen on account of steadily increasing monetisation across casual and mid-core games indicating a growing trend of exploring new IPs by Indian gamers, along with an increased propensity to pay. At the same time, RMG revenue grew by $500 million in FY23 but is expected to face headwinds in the coming years due to recent taxation policies and industry consolidation.
Some of the interesting consumer insights that the report revealed include that 59 per cent of gamers are male and 41 per cent female, with 66 per cent coming from non-metros. Most users play games to unwind or socialise with friends. Of the surveyed users, 41 per cent mentioned that they’ve graduated from playing casual games to all kinds of games, while 28 per cent showed a proclivity to experiment with new genres. Over 58 per cent of users said they partake in in-app purchases, with 62 per cent of users claiming that UPI is their preferred mode of payment for games.
