As 2020 drew to a close, India grew to become the number one market for mobile gaming in the world. By the end of 2020, India was responsible for more than 7 billion installs and 17% of the global market share for mobile gaming. Of course, the pandemic had a lot to do with this as many people chose to stay indoors as a way to keep the virus from spreading. While remaining indoors, many people were forced to really find new ways to keep themselves entertained and engaged. The natural course of action for many was to turn to video games. Considering the fact that India is one of the brightest technological hubs in the world, it’s no wonder why many people found it easy to adopt online gaming as a pastime.
The Power of Mobile
Of course, when it comes to online gaming, there are a myriad of different platforms on which players can choose to show off their talents or blow off some steam. There’s the ever reliable desktop computer and there are also dedicated gaming consoles like the Playstation and the Xbox. But these are not the two devices that ruled the gaming market in India in 2020. Rather, people turned to their mobile devices to play all of their favorite games. Whether it was finding a decent racing simulator or a gaming site Indian people wanted to gamble on, there was no shortage of games available for play on mobile devices.
Many experts weren’t surprised to see that mobile gamers accounted for more than 85% of the gaming market followed by PC gamers who comprised 11%. This is mostly because mobile devices are a lot more accessible and affordable for the masses. It’s a lot more expensive to invest in a dedicated gaming PC than it is to just buy a decent smartphone that can play games. Other than that, there’s an added layer of convenience that comes with playing on mobile devices as opposed to PCs. Most gaming PCs or even dedicated consoles need a proper workstation in order for them to work properly. But mobile devices can be brought around anywhere and it’s possible to play games on them as long as there’s a decent internet connection.
Even saw the rising trend of mobile gaming and invested a bunch of their resources into putting themselves onto mobile platforms. Think of the Players Unknown Battleground gaming franchise. They started out as a PC game and gained massive fame within that space. However, once they saw that more and more people were playing on their phones, they decided to create a mobile version of their game as well. Many other franchises like Call of Duty and NBA 2K also now have mobile versions of their games.
The COVID Effect
The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just bring about radical changes in the realms of health care and public safety. It impacted global gaming industry as we know it. There was a drastic shift in the way that people began to consume their media. More and more people relied on virtual entertainment as a way to pass the time while staying cooped up at home. That’s why online gaming experienced such a massive surge throughout that span. Ultimately, the demand for virtual entertainment grew higher and higher as the pandemic continued to rage on. But aside from the entertainment value, these mobile games also offered a sense of connectedness and social interaction among players. Again, many people were resigned to their homes and most of them were stuck in utter isolation. The social aspect of online gaming was more than enough to fill that void for a lot of people.
The Future of Gaming in India
As it is with any under thriving industry, online gaming such as casinos is going to fall under the scrutiny of the Indian government moving forward. This is especially true for the aspects of gaming that concern data privacy and security. However, there’s really no reason to believe why online gaming will not continue to thrive in India moving forward even after the pandemic. As technology and high-speed internet becomes more and more accessible to the public, there’s very little incentive to not just ride the wave of online gaming along with other people.
