India has seen a significant increase in the influence of gaming over the last ten years, especially among its youth. Even though it is still a novel concept in our nation, eSports has now effectively tapped into the young gamers and the country’s thriving digital media and entertainment ecosystem.
Yet, playing video games was stigmatised or viewed as a social taboo until about ten years ago. A career in eSports is now regarded in India as one of the most profitable, enjoyable, and powerful job choices. India has been trying to catch up to other leading eSports nations. Many thousands more eSports teams and players are projected by 2025.
Online Gaming Market in India
The online gaming market in India is predicted to reach $1.6 billion by FY23, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.7% since FY14.
Around 365 million people played online games in India in FY20, and the market there was amazingly valued at an estimated $742.2 million. The Indian eSports industry is only getting started. It’s OK to state that eSports enthusiasts comprise a small portion of the smartphone user base. Yet, India has the fastest smartphone adoption rate worldwide, and users can get notifications and instant alerts on GBWhatsApp. eSports contributed roughly 4.5% of all users and 9.2% of all revenue from online gaming in FY20.
Careers in eSports and Gaming
India has a gaming population of 480 million people and is the second-largest gaming industry in the world, behind China. According to recent research, the gaming sector in India is expected to expand by 20–30% and create up to 1 lakh new direct and indirect jobs by the end of FY23. The gaming industry is expected to generate new employment opportunities in a variety of fields, including programming (game developers, unity developers), testing (games test engineering, quality assurance), design (motion graphic designers, virtual reality designers), animation (animators), art (VFX and concept artists), and other ad hoc roles (content writers, gaming journalists, web analyst).
eSports is a Booming Industry in India
There are undoubtedly a lot of prospects, but due to the majority of organisers’ tendency towards short-term thinking, there aren’t many paid or stable positions available in the Indian eSports industry. This pattern, however, is slowly shifting as a small number of organisations invest in long-term initiatives to support the growth of the eSports ecosystem. This helps make the industry more enticing for ambitious young teams and players while presenting an excellent forum for brands interested in investing in the sector. For instance, Dream11, India’s largest sports gaming platform, encourages sports enthusiasts to participate actively in their favourite sport by becoming team owners rather than only spectators.
Long-term employment opportunities in the eSports industry result from this. Anyone searching for a job will have a huge advantage over the competition if they have an interest in and knowledge of video games and eSports. Competitors skilled in their field may find it difficult to understand the nuances of eSports games.
