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India Games Market Report

  • Report

  • 79 Pages
  • September 2023
  • Region: India
  • Niko Partners, Inc.
  • ID: 5743981

What you’ll learn from this report:

India secured its position as the world’s most populous nation in 2023 and retained its title as the fastest growing video games market in Asia. Total gamers in India are forecasted to have surged a remarkable 343% in the 10 years between 2017 and 2027, climbing to 641.2 million in 2027. Video games revenue is also on the rise, forecast to increase 21% YoY in 2023 to $868 million. Factors such as higher disposable income, the growth of internet connectivity, and low-cost smartphones are propelling India’s video games market forward.

This data is just a small part of the newly released 79-page 2023 India Games Market report, that includes the publisher's proprietary market model and 5-year forecast through 2027, along with qualitative and quantitative analysis on gamer demand, behavior and usage for mobile, PC, console games.

The India Games Market Report is a comprehensive guide that informs you of the latest developments across the video games and esports sectors in India. From the importance of localization to user preferences for in-game monetization, discover how gamers in India engage with video games so you can make the best business decision.

Key takeaways from the analysis:

  • The author projects India video games revenue across all platforms to reach $868 million in 2023, up 21.2% YoY.
  • India’s video game market is the fastest growing by gamers and revenue, which is forecast to reach $1.6 billion by 2027, growing at a 5-year CAGR of 17.2%.
  • The number of gamers in India across all platforms is forecast to reach 444 million in 2023, up 12.1% YoY.
  • The number of gamers across all platforms in India is forecast to reach 641.2 million in 2027, growing at a 5-year CAGR of 10.1%.
  • India is a mobile first market with 96.8% of total gamers playing on a smartphone or tablet.
  • 31% of the 444.4 million gamers will spend on video games in 2023, with annual ARPPU reaching $6.38
  • The return of BGMI and Free Fire are positive signs for the industry and foreign game companies looking to enter the market.

Table of Contents


IntroductionExecutive Summary
Market Size, Forecast and Macroeconomic Trends
  • Macroeconomic data, Population, Gamers and Internet Users Population
  • Key Drivers of Growth Through 2027
Gamer Survey Demographics
  • Methodology
  • Percentage of Gamers by Gender, Age, Preferred Devices
  • Average Annual Income of Indian Gamers
  • Average Game Playing Hours per Week
Real Money Gaming
  • Overview
  • Regulations on RMG
  • Percentage of Indian Gamers Who Have Played RMG
  • Average Playing Hours and Monthly Spending on RMG
  • Concerns for RMG
Mobile Games Market
  • Mobile Games Revenue & Downloads
  • BGMI and The Rise of Battle Royale Genre
  • Top Mobile Games By Revenue and Downloads
  • Top Mobile Game Publishers By Revenue and Downloads
  • Popularity of Digital Wallets among Indian Mobile Gamers and Subscription Like Services
  • Most Disliked Aspects of Mobile Games
  • Smartphone brands, App Stores, and Gaming Location
PC Games Market?
  • PC Games Revenue & Streaming
  • Most Popular PC Games Genres
  • Overview of Steam Ban Concerns
  • Popularity of Digital Wallets among Indian PC Gamers and Subscription Like Services
  • Most Disliked Aspects of PC Games
  • Laptop brands, App Stores, and Gaming Location
Console Games Market
  • Number of Console Gamers and Console Ownership
  • India Hero Project
  • Average Number of Downloaded Games per Year
  • Most Played Games and Average Gaming Hours per Week
  • Popularity of Digital Wallets among Indian Console Gamers and Subscription Like Services
Esports and Livestreaming
  • Esports Industry Revenue
  • Preferred Device for Esports Tournaments
  • Esports Engagement among Indian Gamers
  • Overview of the Top PC and Mobile Esports Tournaments
  • Overview of Gaming & Esports Content Consumption Behavior
  • Game Livestreaming Platforms and Monetization
Hardware and Infrastructure and Technology
  • Internet Café Attendance
  • 5G Mobile Internet Usage
  • Reception Towards Play-to-Earn Mechanics Within Games
Localization and Monetization
  • Incorporation of Indian Elements in Games Localization
  • Importance of Games Localization
  • Barriers to Spending for Games
  • Reception Towards In-Game Ads
  • Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Usage
Regulations and M&A
  • Gaming-related Regulators in India
  • Recommendations for Developers and Publishers
  • Key Gaming M&A / Investment Events in India
Appendix (Genre List and Glossary)
List of Exhibits
  • India vs China gamers in millions (2017-2027)
  • Number of internet users in millions (April 30,2023)
  • Gamers Gender Identity
  • Gamers Age
  • Devices Used to Play Video Games in the last 30 Days
  • Primary occupation
  • Income from all sources
  • Time spent on gaming each month
  • Hours per week spent playing on certain devices
  • Top Mobile games by revenue (H1 2023)
  • Top mobile game genres by download (H1 2023)
  • Mobile game revenue by Genre (January-August 2023)
  • Smartphone shipments by connectivity (2022)
  • Most played game in the last 3 months
  • Average hours played per week
  • Mobile games preferred Payment method
  • Digital wallets preferences
  • Reason for spending on mobile games
  • What do gamers buy in mobile games
  • Choosing a new mobile game preferences
  • What Gamers dislike most about the mobile games they play
  • Smartphone brands owned for gaming
  • Primary smartphone app store
  • Gaming location by time %
  • Most played PC game in the last 3 months
  • Average Hours played on PC Per week
  • PC Games preferred payment method
  • PC Digital walled payment preferences
  • Reason for spending on PC games
  • What does gamers buy in PC games
  • What’s important when choosing a new PC game to play
  • What does games dislike most about PC Games?
  • Laptop Brands owned for gaming
  • Average annual premium game purchases
  • PC Gaming location by Time %
  • Which console owned most
  • Average games downloaded each year
  • Most played console game in the last 3 months
  • Average hours played on console per week
  • How do gamers pay for console games
  • What do gamers buy in console games
  • Where do games learn about new games
  • Consoles gamers want to buy next
  • Console subscription services
  • Esports tournaments by platform (H1 2023)
  • Esports tournaments by event type (H1 2023)
  • Esports engagement
  • Aspiration to play esports professionally
  • Platform for watching gaming & esports content
  • Average hours per week watching online content
  • Visiting internet cafes percentage
  • Internet cafes preferences
  • Mobile internet market share (April 2023)
  • Fixed line broadband market share (April 2023)
  • Familiarity with future technology
  • Interest in implementing certain technologies in video games
  • How important are certain localization aspects for games
  • Why do gamers not spend money on games
  • What would gamers buy if they spent
  • What do PC gamers do when they see an in-game ad
  • What do mobile gamers do when they see an in-game ad
  • Unified payments interface (UPI) usage
  • UPI usage by payment platform (June 2023)
  • What Real Money Games do gamers Play
  • Which RMG platforms did gamers use in the past year
  • Average hours per week playing RMG title
  • Average spend per month on RMG titles
  • How important are the following when playing RMG
  • What do gamers most dislike about RMG titles?

Companies Mentioned

  • Accel
  • Acer
  • Activision Blizzard
  • AFCO Asia
  • Airtel
  • Alienware
  • All India Gaming Federation (AIGF)
  • Apple
  • Asus
  • Baldota Family Office
  • Better Capital
  • BHIM
  • Bigo Live
  • Black Shark
  • Bobble AI
  • Branded
  • CIIE.Co
  • Courtside Ventures
  • Dell
  • Driffle
  • Egg Network
  • Electronic Arts
  • Faad Network
  • Fingersoft
  • Galaxy Racer
  • GameEon
  • Gamerji
  • Gametion
  • Garena
  • Global Pay Media
  • Hitwicket
  • Honor
  • HP
  • Huawei
  • Imangi Studios
  • IndiGG
  • International Esports Federation (IESF)
  • Iqoo
  • Jetsynthesys
  • Jlo
  • Kalaari Captail
  • Konami
  • Krafton
  • Kratos Studios
  • Lenovo
  • LG
  • Lightbox
  • Loco
  • Lumikai
  • Marwah Sports
  • Mayhem Studio
  • MeitY
  • Meta
  • Microsoft
  • MihoYo
  • Miniclip
  • Ministry of Youth Affairs
  • Mixi
  • Moon Active
  • Nazara Technologies
  • nCore Games
  • NetEase
  • Nexus Venture Partners
  • Nimo TV
  • Nintendo
  • Nodding Head Studios
  • Nodwin Gaming
  • Octro
  • OnePlus
  • OPPO
  • Outfit7
  • Pay tm
  • Pivot Ventures
  • Playrix
  • Poco
  • Prime Venture Partners
  • Prosus Ventures
  • Pyrodactical Studios
  • Qlan
  • Razer
  • RealMe
  • Reliance Jio
  • Riot Games
  • Rooter
  • Rovio Entertainment
  • Samsung
  • Sky Sports
  • Snax Gaming
  • SoftStar
  • Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Sequoia Capital
  • Steadview Capital
  • Studio Sirah
  • Supercell
  • Supergaming
  • Supersonic studios
  • Taturs Ventures
  • The Esports Federation of India (ESFI)
  • TOP GAMES
  • Trifecta Capital
  • True Caller
  • Twitch
  • Valve
  • Vi
  • White Venture Capital
  • Xiaomi
  • YouTube
  • ZTE