Gaming in 2023: A Promising Year For The Sunrise Sector

Looking at the unprecedented growth of the gaming industry, the adoption of next-gen tech such as 5G, 360-degree video, augmented and virtual realities, and of course Web3 will play a monumental role in the growth of the gaming market in the year 2023.

Gaming in 2023 is going to be the industry to watch out for. India is home to over 400 million gamers at the moment spanning over geographies, genders and age-groups. This exponential growth of the market tells us that this upward trajectory will continue due to the vast majority of a younger user base and the higher purchase propensity of gaming consumers will provide the necessary boost to OEMs. 

Adding to this, the gaming industry is not limited to just gaming anymore. There has also been the creation of a new content ecosystem primarily driven by esports players, gaming content creators and live streamers. 

Job creation is another avenue that has caught a lot of attention. As per TeamLease Digital, the gaming industry is projected to add 100,000 direct as well as indirect new jobs by the financial year 2023.

Indian esports To Emerge As An Industry Cornerstone 

Indian esports has finally been recognised by the Government of India as a part of multi-sport events. The sector will now be overseen by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. This makes 2023 all the more interesting for Indian esports. As per Lumikai’s recent study, the esports industry (barring real money and fantasy gaming) is expected to grow to USD 4 billion by the fiscal year ending March 2027, compared to USD 1.1 billion in 2022. 

“I think that global companies will look at India as a large potential market and will enter directly or will partner with local players to tap the market,” said Nitish Mittersain, Joint Managing Director and CEO, Nazara Technologies. 

The sector will undergo unprecedented transformation. “The esports business is one of the key drivers that may transform casual sports fans into devoted gamers, thanks to constant technological improvements,” said Rishabh Bhansali, the Co-founder of esports platform FanClash. 

Rohit N. Jagasia, Founder and CEO of Revenant Esports showed his optimism about the future of esports as well. “With events like the Pokémon Unite Asia Championship followed by a potential World Championship, 2023 is looking great for esports,” added Jagasia. 

Content Creation: An Emerging Sub-Division Of The Gaming Ecosystem 

2022 saw the Indian gaming industry reach unprecedented heights in gaming content streaming, thanks to over 400 million gamers and over 100 million actively playing FPS games. Content creation has seen a massive surge since the pandemic struck the world in 2020. Budding content creators are now seen in every avenue there is including gaming. 

Manohar Hotchandani, Director of Business Development, Meta India stated that the Indian gaming landscape is moving towards India first games including an increased emphasis on vernacular content. Gaming content has especially seen a rise tier-1 and tier-2 cities in 2022. 

Game Creation To Take A New Direction 

With a plethora of new trends emerging in 2022, the game creation business will go through a metamorphosis as well. 

Roby John, Co-founder and CEO of SuperGaming stated that one important direction he sees the future of gaming heading in will be content creator-led and personality-driven.  

A report by Statista mentioned that at 17 million in 2021, the number of esports viewers in India has nearly doubled since 2019 and is estimated to grow to 85 million viewers spread across 20 different platforms by 2025. “As we enter 2023, we are very optimistic about the growth of the country's gaming industry,” said Ashish Gupta, Marketing Lead, India and South Asia, Riot Games. 

Games Of Skill: To Remain An Industry Leading Segment 

2023 will be a year for technological advancement and innovation for the skilled-based gaming sector. Vernacular based gaming is also something that will take off. This trend will only carry forward into 2023. “Gaming apps built in a way that they can be accessed from any iOS and Android smartphone, even the lower-end ones, will see higher penetration in the remote parts of India in 2023,” said Saumya Singh Rathore, Co-founder, WinZo Games. 

Varun Ganjoo, the Co-founder and Marketing Director of Baazi Games stated that the number of in-app purchases will continue to grow and it will be the predominant source of revenue for the firms. The RMG sector already caters to a larger chunk of the revenue share accounting for nearly 57 per cent of the industry revenues. 

Tech: The Way Forward? 

Looking at the unprecedented growth of this sunrise industry, the adoption of next-gen tech such as 5G, 360-degree video, augmented and virtual realities, and of course Web3 will play a monumental role in the growth of this market in the year 2023. The recent introduction of 5G in the Indian ecosystem should definitely have an impact on the gaming industry in India. 

Nitish Singal, the Head of Personal Systems at HP India is especially optimistic about Indian gaming and its role in the growing industry. “We are also seeing the adoption of multiple career opportunities in the gaming segment as influencer, streaming, or gaming software developer – this is set to evolve,” added Singal. 

Pujan Chadha, the Director for Product Marketing - India Consumer at Dell Technologies emphasised on the imperative role of technology going forward. “AR, VR and edge technologies, integrated with 5G, will play an important role in making gaming more immersive and portable,” added Chadha. 

The gaming industry will also eventually step out of games as entertainment and become a mass medium for brand engagement. This will have huge implications as marketing practices are sure to be disrupted.