TelecomLive April 2024

www.telecomlive.com [ News Bytes ] 77 TelecomLIVE April 2024 ther, the platform has amassed 175 mn users within five years and partnered with over 100 game develop- ers. Winzo Games has 150 employees and has so far raised $100mn from investors including Kalaari Capi- tal, Griffin Gaming Partners, Maker's Fund, Courtside Ventures andPags Group. Last year,WinzoGames announced the launch of its platform in Brazil with an investment of $25 mn, in a diversification bid while challenges mounted for India's gaming ecosystem with the implementation of a 28pc tax. Indian gaming market revenue may double to $6 bn by 2028: report Indian gaming industry is expected to almost dou- ble to $6 bn by 2028 from $3.1 bn in 2023, a joint report by Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council and online gaming firm Winzo said. The Indian gaming industry comprises over 1,400 gaming companies, including 500 gaming studios. The India Gaming Report 2024 is based on Interac- tive Entertainment and Innovation Council (IEIC) analysis and secondary data, projects paying gamers to reach 240 mn by 2028 from 144 mn paid users for games in 2023. A c c o r d i n g t o t h e report, the number of professional players will growby 2.5 times over the next five years from 500 in 2023 on the back of recognition by the govt of esports and various state government-led initia- tives to develop talent around esports. "In just four years, from 2019 to 2023, game down l o a d s i n I nd i a soared from 5.65 bn to a staggering 9.5 bn. This growth propelled India's share of global game downloads to a substan- tial 16 pc in 2023, fol- lowed by Brazil and the US with 4.5 bn (7.6 pc market share) and 4.4 bn (7.4 pc market share) downloads, respectively", the report said. The report estimates India has a consumer base of around 568 mn gamers and is home to approximately 15,000 game developers and programmers. Approxi- mately 40 pc of the gam- ing populace in India c o m p r i s e s w o m e n whereas three years ago only one in five gamers in Indiawerewomen. "Mobile gaming con- tributes to 90 pc of the gamingmarket in India as compared to around 37 pc and about 62 pc in the US andChina, respectively. Among the gaming community, nearly 50 pc fall within the age bracket of 18 to 30 years. The segment exhibits a pro- clivity for mid-core and hardcore gaming genres, particularly those charac- terized by fast-paced gameplay such as shoot- ing games, the report said. Conversely, about 30 pc of Indian gamers aver- aged between 31 and 45 years and their gaming preferences lean towards strategy games. The report projects that India's online gam- ing industry will add 2.5 lakh more jobs in next 10 years which at present is estimated to employ 1 lakh skilled gaming pro- fessionals directly and indirectly. The Indian gaming sector is presently wit- n e s s i n g a s u r g e i n demand for talent, with job openings ranging from 50,000 to 60,000 across various roles, including developers, programmers, testers, artists and customer support, the report said.