Well into the year 2022, we can look back and marvel at the whirlwind rise of our country's online gaming industry. Back in the 2000s, the advent of the Indian gaming industry had just started when console and PC gaming brought several middle-income groups onto digital gaming platforms. Since then, India has acted as the primary service provider for international developers as well.
The Indian gaming industry has been gaining popularity in recent years powered by a youthful and tech-savvy populace, affordable accessibility of smartphones, better internet availability, and overall technological evolution. The move has additionally sped up the development of multi-gaming designs in the online gaming space.
The industry is evolving due to the increasing deployment of advanced technology, software, cloud technology, and the internet for the convergence of games and videos on a global scale. According to Statista, the market value of the Indian gaming sector was over 90 billion INR in the financial year 2020. The study further states that the market value is expected to reach 143 billion INR by the end of 2022. Thus, the exponential growth of the market is playing a pivotal role in rapidly increasing the breadth of the overall gaming culture as well.
The Function of Digital Technologies
Here are a few of the key trends in the online gaming market being driven by technology:
Gaming and Blockchain Technology
The utilization of blockchain innovation has exploded in recent years, inferable from the requirement for another framework that can supplant the issues that exist in the traditional paper money system with something completely new and progressive. Blockchain isn't just about money; it has a wide scope of uses, with gaming being one of the most vital elements. It is anticipated that blockchain innovation will impact the manner in which games are made, managed, and played in the future.
A blockchain is a chain of information blocks on a computer network that is straightforward to everyone and can’t be modified. This implies that the game isn't claimed and constrained by a central authority but rather by the clients, who have advanced assets and game items. Thus, blockchain is extremely effective at improving information security.
New-Age Technologies
Technology advancements such as 3D designs, VR/AR, AI, etc., just to name a few, are gradually gaining prominence! Online games are continuously developing and are being used increasingly to measure and gather insight on consumer engagement. As technological advancements enable players to find all the more realistic and vivid recreations on screens.
AR is used to revamp how you play games on mobile phones. It adds real-life side effects, like the sound you hear while playing, or the graphics you see, and is responsible for essentially transforming the
overall experience of games. With innovations such as 3D scanning technology, systems can now create your doppelgänger and replicate the same expressions and the same feelings!
Thus, new creations are making huge leaps forward constantly and are developing traditional gaming encounters into something outside the conventional. The way ahead is to stay abreast of the times and embrace trendy gaming fueled by the most recent innovation!
The popularity of real-money gaming
The ascent of online real cash games like online rummy games or poker games has empowered players to win huge cash rewards and awards from the comfort of their homes. We would agree that the real-cash gaming portion is currently at an expanding stage and acquiring solid energy every passing day with digital adoption.
Play-to-earn games involve some form of cryptocurrency. However, if you earn money playing these games, you can transfer it to either a cryptocurrency wallet or use it to buy in-game items. You can also buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which, in some cases, are used in the same way as in-game currency. Thus, in this scenario, various other mobile games have evolved, such as fantasy sports and quiz games, which are improving the cash gaming market promptly by adopting digitalization.
Growth in the Indian gaming market
With the evolution of technology, the gaming industry in India has gained prominence over the years and will continue to see faster growth in the coming years as well. Rapid penetration and affordability of smartphones, along with cheap mobile data, have led to mobile phones being the most preferred gaming device.
The value of the mobile gaming market in India is projected to reach about 405 million U.S. dollars by the end of the year 2022. According to the report by Sequoia India and BCG, while the gaming industry in India is currently smaller than that in the US and China and accounts for 1% of the global gaming market, it is generating $1.5 billion in revenue and is expected to triple to over $5 billion by 2025 on the back of the "mobile-first" phenomenon.
The role of digital marketing in making games stand out in the ever-competitive app stores is immense.
Digital media marketing is a work of art, and it is tied in with focusing on explicit crowds with risky, bold, and imaginative tasks that excite clients to participate in online gaming by coming up with top-notch captivities. Digital marketing is critical in the gaming industry, and companies across the board spend a lot of money marketing their games in order to stand out from the crowd by advertising on different platforms.
Conclusion
In recent years, the gaming business has progressed efficiently. Mobile, video or console gaming keeps on developing on account of technological leaps forward, such as 3D illustrations, Virtual Reality, and Artificial Intelligence, as does the equipment to play them.
According to the report by KPMG, online gaming is expected to rise to 510 million by the end of 2022, up from 360 million in 2020. In terms of revenue, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the next five years, reaching Rs 290 billion ($3.84 billion). Hence, it would be appropriate to say that the market will grow exponentially in the times ahead and digital adoption will play a major role in the same.
However, as we keep on developing new things, players will be able to appreciate all the more realistic, vivid, and engaging experiences. Given the current rate of technological advancement and the anticipated evolution of futuristic things, gaming experiences are expected to improve and, over time, assist the gaming industry in reaching exceptional heights.
By Mr Rama Krishna Sreepada – Chief Architect, [x]cube LABS