FICCI-EY media and entertainment report 2022 on “Tuning into consumer”, report on the esports segment

1. The online gaming segment is expected to reach INR153 billion by 2024 at a CAGR of 15% to become the fourth largest segment of the Indian M&E sector, driven by innovations across NFTs, the metaverse and esports.

 

2. The number of Esports players doubled from 300,000 in 2020 to 600,000 in 2021,  Esports revenue grew by 29% from INR7.5 billion in 2020 to INR9.7 billion in 2021, Esports teams also grew by over 50% from 60,000 in 2020 to 100,000 in 2021,  The total prize money in 2021 crossed INR 200 million and there is also a meteoric rise in viewership, from 600,000 hours in 2020 to 2 million hours in 2021.

 

3. The growth seen in Esports is expected to continue in 2022, with the number of players reaching 1 million, out of which 20% would be women.  India is expected to have 10 international esports teams by 2022.

 

4. As a result, the interest of brands in this segment is increasing, with 72 brands investing in 2021 (up from 45 in 2020) and expected to reach 100 brands in 2022.

 

Indian Esports Revenue – https://www.statista.com/statistics/1263250/india-esports-revenue-by-category/

Indian Esports Player Base – https://www.statista.com/statistics/1263263/india-esports-players-population/

India is currently home to over 430 million mobile gamers and the number is estimated to grow to 650 million by 2025, according to the latest data provided by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). 

If you are planning anything around the year-end stories on the growth of gaming and esports in 2022, we can share the responses/articles on behalf of the below-mentioned personalities on how the year 2022 fared for them and their upcoming plans for the year 2023:

1. Esports Federation of India

Spokesperson: Mr Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India & Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF)

ESFI is a full member of the International Esports Federation (IESF), Global Esports Federation (GEF), and Asian Esports Federation (AESF)

2. 8bit Creatives, India’s leading esports consulting and talent agency

Spokesperson: Mr Animesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, 8Bit Creatives

Mr Animesh Agarwal, Founder, and CEO of 8Bit Creatives, India’s leading esports consulting and talent management agency.  He is also the founder of S8UL, a hub of gaming content and esports. S8UL is the parent org of team sOul, the reigning champions of BGMI in India. Animesh dons several hats as an entrepreneur, an ex-pro gamer, a monster energy esports athlete, a gaming & luxury lifestyle content creator and a pioneer in the Indian Gaming Industry. He has a deep understanding of the industry and is dedicated to shaping the esports and gaming industry in India. He has partnered with other industry front runners like Nodwin Gaming & LOCO to make substantial strides in advancing gaming & esports in India. 

His Company, 8Bit Creatives is equally making remarkable milestones in the business of content creation and brand collaborations around gaming and esports. With some of India’s top gaming talents in their line-up and backed with experience and exposure of collaborating and curating campaigns with 100+ top-notch brands like Netflix, Coca-cola, Reliance Digital, Mx Players, OnePlus, Realme Narzo, Flipkart, Airtel, and many others; 8Bit Creatives boasts of managing popular and renowned gaming content creators and influencers- Mortal, Scout, Mavi, Snax, Thug, Payal, Kaashvi, 8bit Goldy, 8bit Sid to name a few.

3. Revenant Esports, one of the fastest-growing Esports organizations of South Asia and the Middle East

Spokesperson: Rohit N Jagasia, Founder and CEO of Revenant Esports

Revenant Esports is an esports organization built from the ground up. From humble beginnings to exponential growth, the objective of Revenant Esports has been to be the leading esports company in India. Revenant Esports was founded in 2020 and it has an active roster in 6 esports titles like BGMI, Call of Duty: Mobile, Free Fire, Clash of Clans, Valorant and Pokemon Unite. The company is founded by Rohit Naresh Jagasia and the company received their last funding of $1 million in May 2021 from Adman-turned-investor Sajan Raj Kurup.

4. Qlan – The Gamer’s Social Network

Spokesperson: Mr Sagar Nair, Co-Founder & CEO, Qlan

The app is a young setup established to bridge the need to create a one-stop networking platform that would be dedicated to the esports/gaming community. It is an exclusive platform built for the community to seamlessly connect with each other and facilitate the gaming ecosystem. The app is a one-stop solution to create custom Solo, Squad, and organisations profiles, showcase gaming skills by syncing in-game statistics, access AI-enabled gamer matchmaking for verified connections. It also will help in sharing gaming and esports content with an option to monetize early, Promote esports tournaments and IPs to a target audience, etc.