The report, released by Indian venture capital firm Lumikai in collaboration with Google and Deloitte on Tuesday, revealed that India's gaming market grew by 23 percent last year, reaching $3.8 billion.
Mobile games accounted for about 30 percent of the new media market, which is valued at $12.5 billion, reaching $3.8 billion. The new media market includes video content, animation, VFX (visual effects), audio streaming, social media, and more.
The total number of gamers increased by 4 percent, reaching 591 million, and mobile game downloads ranked second globally with 15.2 billion downloads. Over the past year, 8 million new players began spending on games, bringing the total number of paying players to 148 million.
In-app purchase frequency increased by 41 percent compared to the previous year, with games like Battlegrounds Mobile India, Clash of Clans, and Free Fire MAX leading the charge.
"The [typical] narratives of 'Indians don't play games' and/or pay for games – they have been debunked completely," said Lumikai's founding general partner Salone Sehgal. "So if we take that off the table, if you're looking for the next billion gamers, they're going to come from the Indian market."
The proportion of female gamers increased from 41 percent to 44 percent year-over-year, and 66 percent of gamers reside in non-urban areas. On average, gamers spend 13 hours a week playing games.
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