Mobile gaming future: India is on top of the m-gaming market

Gaming has influenced millions of people. In the gaming market share pie, mobile gaming has a sweet piece. According to Xerfi Global reports (2021), the $200 billion games market worldwide dominates by the Asian-Pacific region for half of video game sales, accounting for 45% through smartphone and tablets segments.

The confinement has lifted its shadows now, and the gaming universe that is supposed to be recession-proof or at least resist it has reported serious problems.

Sony signalled a 15% engagement reduction, and Microsoft also showed weakened sales. Gaming chip producer Nvidia showed a 44% fall in the overall gaming revenues. Additionally, Grand theft auto game makers Take-two interactive forecasted a 5% decline in share price. Also, one of the biggest gaming companies, Activision-Blizzard (soon will be acquired by Mircosoft for $69 bn), posted a 15% plummet in the second quarter.

The Rise of ESPORTS

Worldwide the following challenges are diminishing the PC/Consoles gaming segment:

  • Production delays in new-gen consoles
  • Fierce competition
  • Innumerable game content raising the expectancy of every gamer
  • Google, Facebook/Meta, Amazon, and Netflix are lurking to capitalize on their privileged position as cloud platforms

 However, despite the decline in video game sales( -1.1%), mobile gaming remained dynamic with the increase in internet connection and ease of access. With an average rate of EBIT of 35% (2015-2020), Tencent had reached the 25 billion mark through free-to-play mobile games. Mobile esports battle royale BGMI (formerly known as PUBG), Garena Free Fire, and Apex legends mobile have been popping off in India currently. In India, KPMG noted an m-gaming user-base of 390 million people, and BCG evaluated the Indian mobile gaming market in 2025 to be $5 bn.  

Here are some reasons why mobile gaming is set to explode-

Advergaming potential:

An audience that may play games for leisure provides an additional digital space to exploit for product or service offerings. For example, Tencent’s PUBG made $45 million in January with ads and in-game purchases.

 Games itself:

The spectacle of Anime Comic Game Novel (aka ACGN) games are more intricate and evolved with an established fanbase. Globally “Genshin Impact” has continued to top other games.

The mobile gaming phenomenon Pokémon Go, games like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, and Nintendo’s expanding support for mobile games are key growth drivers for the industry. Additionally, the expansion of the industry occurred through the mobile versions of the well-known online games Fortnite and PUBG.

Hyper-casual and puzzle games with 40% growth can not be ignored as well.

Publishers’ push:

Publishers saw a new avenue for selling their services through smartphones direct to consumers. Their invigorated interest in this space also means more powerful games and more creative designs to allure casual gamers and sophisticated gamers. With mobile gaming, it has been a problem with the gameplay, poor graphics, substandard stories, or processing power to run the games. Therefore interest of mighty publishers like Riot Games, EA, Konami, Bethesda, and Ubisoft could revolutionize the mobile gaming space.

Capable smartphones and 5G arrival:

Smartphones are versatile gadgets and are becoming powerful day by day. It catalyzes game developers to build m-games engaging and enjoyable.

The number of powerful cheap smartphones in India has also increased. With 658 million internet users, the world’s second-biggest internet user base has raised the demand for cheap and casual gaming incredibly. 

With the arrival of 5G, telecom companies already have strategic plans to launch mobile gaming platforms. More bandwidth will improve latency issues that ameliorate experiencing the game and shorter waiting time for cloud gaming requirements.

AR, VR, Cloud gaming, and Metaverse:

With improved and affordable internet, the response of the virtual world will be an interesting development. Currently, augmented reality and virtual reality have not been served justice by 4G.

The ability to play on your console with your cellphone on the go is a dream come true for gamers. Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia have already jumped into cloud gaming. Independence to play anywhere on any device without any high-end hardware and no need to download is the future of gaming.  

Metaverse has been holding meetings, and educational classes virtually.  Upgraded VR headsets with no problems for users such as dizziness or headache will situate mobile games at the top.

Also Read: An esports market outlook: Position of India in the gaming and esports sector