Winzo, an Indian social gaming and interactive entertainment platform, has introduced its flagship talent mentorship program, Battle of Super Scholars (BOSS). In conjunction with six of India's leading business schools—IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, FMS Delhi and ISB—the program aims to mentor elite talent to accelerate technological innovation, strengthen the gaming sector and position India as one of the world's top gaming markets.
The BOSS program had over 2,000 students working in teams of two on projects aimed at modernising traditional gaming formats, investigating new monetisation models and growing Indian gaming enterprises into worldwide markets. Winners received Rs 50 lakh scholarships and the opportunity to join WinZO to advance their gaming careers.
Paavan Nanda, Winzo's co-founder, underlined the company's goal of nurturing Indian talent to address real-world challenges and advance the global digital ecosystem. "We are confident that these young minds will bring forward innovative ideas that will form the foundation of India's burgeoning sectors," he said.
Sanket Gaggar and Snehanshu Mishra, IIM Bangalore program winners, commended the coaching they received, stating that it assisted them in developing a product prototype that served as a strong proxy for a real-world software.
The Indian Gaming Sector
The global online gaming business is now valued more than USD 300 billion and has 3.3 billion players, with India accounting for 20 per cent of this user population and 17 per cent of global gaming app downloads. Despite this, India's worldwide market share remains very modest. By narrowing this deficit, India might gain an estimated USD 60 billion by 2034. The country's 1,400 gaming businesses, which use technologies like AI, blockchain, and VR, have already produced over 100,000 skilled jobs and increased the sector's market size to USD 3 billion.
The gaming sector, which was valued at USD 3.1 billion in FY23, is expected to rise to USD 7.5 billion by FY28, owing to a healthy 20 per cent CAGR. This expansion is mostly driven by higher in-app purchases in casual and midcore games, as well as rising in-game advertising earnings. With 568 million gamers, 25 per cent of whom are paying users—a 17 per cent year-on-year increase—the sector is highly engaged. Despite the suspension of popular games such as BGMI and Free Fire, in-app income from other titles increased 37 per cent year on year, demonstrating a shift in gamers' preferences for new IPs.
A poll of over 2,000 Indian gamers indicated that 50 per cent are between the ages of 18 and 30, with a male-to-female ratio of approximately 60:40. YoY, average gaming time grew by 20 per cent to 10-12 hours per week. Gamers typically play to relax and socialise, but many are turned off by excessive advertisements or game objectives. Over 40 per cent have moved on from casual games, and 60 per cent make in-app payments, with UPI being the preferred payment option for 62 per cent of users.
