The Right Intersection
“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion,” — Alexander the Great
Some sectors have the brawn of pugilists who can hit beyond their weight, not because of what they represent by themselves but because of the ways in which they influence businesses and the overall environment surrounding them. Gaming is one such sector. Through the year gone by, we have heard success stories of growth in numbers in gaming, and of foreign investments and revenue generation amid the slowdown. We have heard of how other sectors are ‘gamifying’ their ways to connect better with their internal and external stakeholders and of how gaming was furthering the vision of a Digital India in its own way, to boost economic recovery.
I am among those who firmly believe that the power of gaming is in the intersection of several sectors, and that this power is only slated to grow stronger in times to come. We are just about scratching the surface now on how intrinsic gaming will become to our lives, and to our businesses. A Deloitte report says India’s gaming industry is expected to grow at 40 per cent to around $2.8 billion by 2022 from $1.1 billion in 2019. A KPMG report says gaming was growing at 113 per cent and would reach $3.91 billion by 2025. This makes it one of the faster growing sectors in India now.
Gaming attracted $544 million in investments between August 2020 and January 2021, which is set to double over the next 12-18 months, according to Maple Capital Advisors. Ever since gaming was included in medal sports, the Indian government too is paying more attention to creating an ecosystem of growth for it. There were close to 300 million online gamers in India in 2019 and their tribe has swelled to 433 million in FY 2021. The industry’s revenue has more than doubled from Rs 6,200 crore in FY 2020 to Rs 13,600 crore in FY 2021. Casual gaming accounted for 44 per cent of the country’s total online gaming in FY 2021 and its share is likely to touch 58 per cent by FY 2025.
Many factors have come together to brew a perfect storm for gaming. In this issue, we deep dive into this sector and study the nuances that make gaming important as a sector. We feature change agents and evangelists who are putting the Indian gaming sector on the global map.
We also have a cover story on India’s Great Mid-Size Workplaces 2021. A great place to work is even more important as we emerge from the ravages of the pandemic. Every year more than 10,000 organizations from over 60 countries partner with the Great Place to Work Institute to assess, benchmark and plan actions to strengthen their workplace culture. We showcase the top 50 Great Mid-Size Workplaces.
Of course, we also bring to you all our regular features. Happy Reading!
