India’s gaming market is growing rapidly and according to a new report, it can reach US $ 9.2 billion by 2028-29. This growth will be due to the increase in advertising revenue and in-app purchases. This estimate has been given in the report of venture capital firm Lumikai, which was released on Monday.
23% growth projected in 2024
Lumikai’s ‘State of India Interactive Media and Gaming Report’ states that India’s gaming market will grow by 23% to reach US$3.8 billion in FY24 from US$3.1 billion in FY23. According to the report, the Indian gaming market is expected to reach US$9.2 billion by 2028-29, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20%, driven by a steady increase in in-app purchases and advertising revenues.
Rapid growth from in-app purchases and advertising
The report also states that in-app purchase (IAP) revenue is the fastest growing segment with a 41% year-on-year growth. Real money gaming (RMG) platforms have also seen their revenues increase by US$400 million due to big events like the World Cup and IPL. However, despite this growth, taxation challenges in RMG have led to a decline in margins and have adversely impacted profitability.
Increase in the number of gamers in India
According to the report, 23 million new gamers have joined India and now the total number of Indian gamers has reached 590 million. India has now become the second largest market in the world in terms of mobile gaming downloads, which is 3.5 times larger than the US and Brazil. The average weekly gaming time in India’s gaming market has also increased by 30% from 10 hours to 13 hours.
The number of paying gamers has also increased
The report also revealed that the annual average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) grew by 15% to USD 22. 25% of users now make in-game payments, taking the number of paying gamers to 148 million. In addition, 60% of gamers engaged with RMG now pay for mid-core games as well, reflecting the growing sophistication and interest of gamers in gaming.
