E-sports in India a lucrative career path in 2023, gamers positive: Experts

Twenty-one-year-old Hitesh Kumar spends considerable time playing e-sports or video games. Better known as ‘GodLearn’ his gaming persona, he believes that the recent recognition that the segment has received from the government will add to the momentum that this sector has seen since the pandemic.

“With so many new titles getting added to the long list of already existing e-sports titles, it will bring a lot of opportunities in the upcoming 5 years for players to diversify and grow. With the help of the Indian government, we will definitely see e-sports becoming a secure profession for youngsters in India,” he added. He has been a professional e-gamer for the past four years.

“Personally, I have high hopes for other games to grow their viewership in India and with so many new players and talent I look for the dominance of Indian teams globally,” Hiteshkumar added.

E-sports, or competitive video gaming, in India has witnessed a steady rise in popularity over the years. After being officially recognized by the Government of India as a part of multi-sports events and being brought under the purview of the Sports Ministry, industry stakeholders believe that e-sports will now be put on par with other sports, and offer a lucrative career path to gamers.

India’s gaming market was valued at $2.6 billion in FY 2022 and it will be worth $8.6 billion by 2027, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent, according to the report by Lumikai, a gaming-focused venture capital fund. The number of gamers in the country stood at 507 million in FY22 and this number is expected to touch 700 million by FY 2025, growing at a CAGR of 12 per cent.

Although the Indian gaming industry is still nascent, more and more gamers are now viewing gaming and e-sports as viable career paths. The live gaming streamer earns nearly 20,000 to 25,000 every month. This has the potential to increase substantially due to brand tie-ups and advertisements.

According to HP’s India Gaming Landscape Study 2022, 33 per cent of respondents saw gaming as a viable main career while the same number looked at it as a good part-time career, as they felt gaming offers good earnings prospects, along with multiple career choices.

“We saw the rapid rise in popularity of e-sports within India in 2020 and 2021, which has not abated even after lockdowns have ceased.  The e-sports industry was worth Rs 300 crore in 2021, and this is projected to scale to Rs 1,100 crore by 2025,” said Roland Landers, CEO, All India Gaming Federation (AIGF). “The e-sports ecosystem has a lot of potential to generate not just around Rs 10,000 crore in economic value for India, but also create over 11,000 jobs by 2025.”

The e-sports ecosystem consists of the game publishers and developers, teams, federations and players, and tournament organisers. Sponsorship from brands and equipment suppliers are also integral components.

Recognition on the international front has played a big role in bringing e-sports to the fore.

In August of 2022, India's DoTA 2 team bagged a bronze medal in the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championships. Soon after in November, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the inaugural Olympic Esports Week would take place in Singapore in June 2023. The sport is also expected to make its debut at the Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China next year.

E-sports is also benefiting from online streaming platforms, which allow for creation of content and grow e-sports audiences.

“E-sports has been at the foundation of our content streaming verticals. With more and more brands becoming interested in collaborating with e-sports players, whether as sponsors or for native content integrations, we are also helping gamers explore and monetise their reach and popularity to create viable and sustainable revenue streams,” said Piyush Kumar, Founder and CEO, Rooter, a gaming and e-sports content streaming platform.

According to estimates from the All India Gaming Federation, e-sports prize pools have also been growing rapidly, with a projected CAGR of 61 per cent. The total e-sports prize pool is expected to touch Rs 100 crore by 2025, which will make the sector a highly viable and a lucrative career path for gamers.             

Aside from the growing prize pools, Kumar says, gamers can earn through brand sponsorships and revenues from streaming platforms such as Rooter. “If you are a competitive gamer participating in tournaments and have good skills and partnerships in place, you can earn anywhere upwards of Rs 1 lakh a month with ease. With the kind of monetisation opportunities that eSports offers, some of the top gamers even earn up to Rs 20-25 lakh a month.”

Many higher educational institutions already have their own dedicated e-sports teams, and this trend is only expected to increase.

“A company called MOGO Esports is partnering with Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Maharashtra to build the country’s first professional e-sports arena. Many of the top higher educational institutions, including the IITs, have dedicated e-sports societies and teams, while many others across the country are jumping on board the e-sports bandwagon by scaling up their in-house support infrastructure and ecosystems for different games,” Kumar added.

The emergence of Web3 gaming and disruptive technologies such as 5G are also expected to give a fillip to the industry.

“5G, with its high-speed access and better quality, will help bolster the offerings of Web 3.0. This will in turn not only help players but will also enhance the spectator experience which is a prominent part of e-sports like any other sporting event,” said Rajan Navani, founder and CEO, JetSynthesys.

Pearl Agarwal, Founder and Managing Director, Eximius Ventures, said, “Recognition of e-sports by the Sports Ministry will lead to new business models and sub-segments to emerge, thereby increasing investor and founder interest in the segment,” Agarwal added.

However, experts believe more work needs to be done to bring e-sports in India to global levels.

“We need to work towards building more AAA games within India which will need more monetary and technical support,” said Landers. “We also need better infrastructure for our gamers, in order for them to be able to train, participate and compete in international tournaments.”