WHY ARE BRANDS BULLISH ABOUT E-SPORTS?
Esports is a type of video game sport competition
that is often organized into multiplayer video games, especially between
professional players, either individually or as a team. Esports has dominated
the Indian market owing to the growth and promotion done on online streaming
platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. The term "esports" is becoming
more popular by the day, thanks to multiplayer online games such as PUBG and
Fortnite.
The general public is still unaware that the esports
industry is more than a decade old and has only recently exploded in India,
with more developers and investors entering the sector. Esports video game
genres include multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), first person shooter
(FPS), fighting, card games, battle royale, and real time strategy (RTS).
League of Legends, Dota, and Counter-Strike are among the most popular
franchises.
Even though authenticity of esports as a genuine
sporting competition is still being debated, they have appeared
in conjunction with traditional sports in events such as Asian games, and
the International Olympic Committee is also considering their inclusion in
future Olympic events. In FY20, esports accounted for approximately 4% of all
online gaming users and 9.13% of aggregate revenue from the overall online
gaming market in India. The 123.3 percent increase in esports prize money pool
between 2016 and 2018 has enticed gamers to become professionals.
Esports
in India
According to Forbes, India ranks 16th, with $1.17
billion in total revenue (8,000 crore approx.). In comparison, North America is
expected to generate nearly $409 million in revenue over the next four years,
while China is known to have the world's largest gaming market, with a total
revenue of $37.9 billion (approx. Rs 26.11 lakh crore) in 2018, followed by the
US, Japan, and Korea. This demonstrates that the esports market has enormous
potential, and India should capitalise on it.
In 2010, India had only 25 game developers, but each
year, 250 more join the list. Paytm, Alibaba, Tencent, and even
Nazara have made significant investments in the Indian gaming market, which is
currently ranked fifth in the world in terms of mobile gaming. The majority of
esports revenue is sponsored by companies such as Asus and Oppo, which have
provided funding to organise and promote esports competitions in India.
Apart from local tournaments such as the PUBG Mobile
India Series 2019, Mumbai will host one of the largest esports gaming events,
ESL (Electronic Sports League), that would see Dota 2 players from all over the
world compete over the course of two days. According to Forbes, as of October
31st, 2019, 285 Indian players had earned $216,761.38 (Rs 1.49 crore) in
multiple esports tournaments and games, ranking India 64th.
During
Covid-19, the Esports Market
The paradigm shift in how Indians consume content
and socialise online has served as a catalyst to man attention economy
sectors also including online gaming. According to a report by Barc and
Nielson, the growth of smartphone game users per week increased from 60% prior
to the Covid lockdown to 68% during the lockdown. Similarly, the amount of time
spent on mobile games per user increased from 151 minutes prior to Covid 19 to
218 minutes after the lockdown.
Because of the large number of young people in the
Indian market, esports has enormous potential. The esports segment of online
gaming has grown significantly in India in recent years, owing to the
proliferation of high-end smartphones at low prices, as well as the rise of
mobile games such as PUBG Mobile, Free Fire, Clash of Legends, and Call of Duty
Mobile, among PC and console games.
The esports market has all of the ingredients for
growth, including increased penetration of high-speed 4G internet and an
increase in the number of online gamers. According to an Inc42 Plus analysis of
36 companies, including Jetsynthesys, Nazara technologies, Usports, and
Gamerji, the aggregate revenue of esports startups and companies in India
reached $68 million in FY2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 36% over the
next three years.
Increased
Startup Investment
As the demand for competitive gaming grows in India,
the esports and gaming sectors are attracting significant investor attention.
According to Inc42 Plus, the total venture capital funding in Indian gaming
startups between 2014 and H1 2020 was $448 Mn. Dream11 has raised $100 million
in total funding, followed by Smaaash Entertainment with $82.6 million and
Nazara Technologies with $79 million.
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