A recent report about the state of online gaming in India outlines a number of interesting facts about the gaming habits of Indians during and after the pandemic.
Press Release: Findings of a recent study highlight the growing interest of Indians in online gaming. Driven largely by smartphones and affordable data, there is a significant increase in the number of online gamers and the average time they spend gaming online.
A Deloitte India report states that the online gaming industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40 percent to $2.8 billion by 2022 (up from $1.1 billion in 2019). With around 13 percent of the global gaming sessions, India ranks among the world’s top five mobile gaming markets. With more than 75 percent of its population below 45, India has become the largest potential market for online gaming.
COVID-19 has also played a key role in the surging number of gaming enthusiasts in India and globally as well. The pandemic has pushed online gaming to the forefront of activities of many people across all age groups. The lockdown across the country last year forced most people to work from home. This resulted in more spare time and the chance for an increase in engagement with leisure tasks. Not surprisingly, Indians turned their attention to online games, resulting in them spending more hours in gaming activities.
A report titled ‘The State of Online Gaming – 2021’ also affirms the fact that more people are spending more time on online games after the pandemic.
This report from Limelight Networks states that the average time spent on gaming saw a 14 percent increase. Also, more players spent more than five hours at a stretch playing online slots. The younger population between the ages of 18 and 25 leads the charge in online gaming by continuously playing games for long stretches of time.
The ‘The State of Online Gaming – 2021’ report further affirms that Indian players spent the third amount of their time every week playing online games giving a shot in the arm to the gaming industry in India. Indian gamers, by logging in about 8.61 hours, have nudged ahead of the global average of 8.45 hours. The only countries with a better average than India are Vietnam with 10.16 hours and China with a much higher 12.39 hours per week. The global average in the time spent gaming increased by an impressive 14 percent as compared to 2020 data.
The report also revealed that while 25 percent of players spent more than 12 hours playing games per week, Indians spent about 5.5 hours on average in continuous gaming. The report also highlighted some interesting facts:
Gamers in the age group of 36-45 are spending more time in online gaming at 9.26 hours per week
Those in the age group of 18-25 spend the least hours in online gaming at 7.97 hours per week
Players in the 45-60 age group bracket spend around 7.8 hours playing online games.
The report also states that both male and female gamers committed more time playing online games this year as compared to last year. Among Indian gamers, casual single-player games and online slots are preferred over other games. Smartphone gaming and PC gaming are more popular.
Universally, there is a growing demand for faster download speeds. A high percentage of global gamers revealed that they were frustrated with interruptions happening during downloads. Most Indian gamers, on the other hand, did not show the same level of irritation with downloading speeds.
For achieving a more efficient and faster performance, most gamers expressed their willingness to upgrade their system to the next best-available technology. Indian gamers are on the second spot globally when it comes to upgrading their gaming console.
A study on the Indian consumer suggests that if India continues to grow at the current pace that it is witnessing, the one billion-plus people under the age of 45 coupled with a substantial increase in smartphone ownership and data usage can make India the country with the largest growth potential for online gaming.
The country has seen a steady increase in the number of internet users in recent years. With the middle-class consumers going for multi-features, low-cost smartphones, and having easy access to internet connectivity, they have emerged as the drivers of the rapid growth of online gaming in India. Smartphone ownership has become commonplace in India, and that’s why service providers are using this IT ecosystem to provide new gaming opportunities to the Indian populace.
It is abundantly clear that India is witnessing an unprecedented increase in interest and growth in the gaming industry. The growth is fueled primarily because of technology, an innovative approach by entrepreneurs, and the rapidly changing consumption patterns.
There is no denying that the coronavirus pandemic was also largely responsible for the huge revival of social games in the country. With nearly every member of the family stuck at home during the initial months of the pandemic because of the abrupt and unexpected lockdown, online gaming became the favourite pastime of most Indians.
Mobile gaming also provided them with the opportunity to connect with other players online through popular gaming platforms. According to experts, this also resulted in extended and continuous gaming sessions as multiplayer games keep players more engaged and engrossed.
According to industry observers and experts, the present status of the regulatory landscape and the kind of perception people have will necessitate the industry to set up self-regulation standards, setting up the highest quality and transparency standards.
These initiatives will go a long way in reducing glitches in the gaming process and deliver a smooth gaming experience to the emerging community of skilled gamers when they play slots online or indulge in multiplayer games.
The gaming industry in India has been evolving steadily over the past few years as new and advanced gaming platforms became easily available for players.
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