Unlocking a thriving career in India’s gaming industry

Welcome to the ninth issue of the Tech Wrap India, a fortnightly newsletter bringing you the hottest conversations shaping the world of tech right now, brought to you by Isha Chitnis , tech and innovation editor at LinkedIn News India.

This week, we dive into the world of gaming — building a career in it, what VC investments in the space look like, and how 5G will transform the gaming experience and industry.

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“Young professionals are going to see amazing opportunities across the gaming value chain, and the learning and growth will be immense,” says Anirudh Pandita , Founder of game streaming platform Loco.

Before we dive into the opportunities and skills, let’s take a step back and get an overview of the ecosystem.?

India’s gaming industry is expected to reach $8.6 billion by FY27,? create thousands of jobs overall and in the fantasy sports sector, more Indians are also looking at e-sports as a lucrative career path in 2023, which was recognised as a multi-sports event by the Indian government in December last year.

507 million — That’s how many gamers India has, as per a Lumikai 2022 report. The number is on the rise, with more women joining the ecosystem and considering gaming as a career, and Tier 2 cities and beyond are jumping on the bandwagon, too.

So what do you need to know to build a career in this thriving industry?

Pandita expects these opportunities for professionals to emerge:

• Backend engineering: Where they will build high-scale systems
• Artificial Intelligence: Where they’ll create novel techniques for moderation, recommendation, matchmaking, and generative AI to scale creative output
• Community management: Where they’ll cultivate communities for games and gamers
• Design: Where they’ll create India-first designs and novel game designs.?

?? See? Anirudh Pandita’s post on monetisation of gaming in India

Gaming caters to users across demographics and the industry has to be agile and engaging with their products, and the visual appeal is also very critical, said? Vikrant Goyal , VP, HR at gaming company Games24x7. To make it happen, he says, it “takes great skills and talent from technology, design, graphics, data science and artificial intelligence, and marketing.”

Having a keen affinity towards gaming as a professional, or even as a user is also immensely helpful, according to him, and once in the gaming industry, the key to success is an analytical and user-centric mindset.?

The skills Goyal expects to be in demand include knowing the user intimately, hyper-personalisation of games, DS and Analytics, Product Design and Management, Technology, and Digital Marketing.

Making it as an e-sports gamer

India’s e-sports viewership is on the rise, the number of e-sports players is growing, prize pools are growing rapidly, and tournaments and dedicated platforms for gaming leagues are cropping up. What does the e-sports ecosystem include? Game publishers and developers, teams, federations and players, and tournament organisers, along with sponsorship from brands and equipment suppliers, according to a Business Standard report.

To build a career as a gamer, the first step is to understand the basics of gaming and the industry by researching popular games, leagues, and tournaments, Ashwin Suresh, Founder of Loco, told CNBCTV18. The second step, he adds, is developing the right skills through consistent practice and participating in online tournaments to make your name as an e-sports competitor. He also suggests polishing communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, and creating an impressive portfolio.

The three main ways to make money in the industry are regular streaming games, promotional brand deals, and prize money from tournaments, according to streamer Kanika Bisht (Kani Gaming). She says some e-sports companies may hire them as a player, coach, shout-casters, or team member, paying a monthly salary.

What are the must-have skills to build a thriving career in gaming? ?? Share your thoughts using #TechWrapIndia.

India is increasingly dialling into 5G, and in May 2023, India’s 5G smartphone sales surpassed the 100 million mark for the first time driven by entry-level devices, according to CyberMedia Research data. The technology will also significantly impact the gaming sector, says a recent Teamlease Services report.

What will this impact look like? For one, 5G-enabled cloud gaming is on the rise driven by the ease of gaming on the go, and mobile operators are monetising their 5G networks and driving up service revenues by targeting such gaming segments, says an Economic Times report. India was the world’s largest consumer of mobile games in FY22 with a billion downloads, according to Lumikai data.

For low latency gaming involving strategy games or first-person shooting games, 5G will be a game changer, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research Prachir Vardhan Singh told Economic Times.

The CEO of Krafton Sean Hyunil Sohn writes in a Financial Express article that 5G will help improve player performance and quality of streaming when it comes to e-sports tournaments. He also says 5G will also widen accessibility and level the playing field for new players as it enables high-quality gaming experiences on mobile.

?? See Akshara Bassi’s post on 5G and gaming

Sharing her take on how 5G will revolutionise the gaming experience, Senior Principal Consultant at Oracle Sangeetha Mathivanan says, “The improved network stability and faster data transfer will enable players to engage in high-stakes, real-time competitions, attracting both casual gamers and professional esports athletes.”?

5G's enhanced capabilities will also empower developers to create more sophisticated and visually stunning games, pushing the boundaries of what is currently achievable on mobile platforms.

?? See Sangeetha Mathivanan’s post on how 5G is revolutionising the gaming experience

“Except for fantasy sports startups and Nazara Technologies, Indian gaming companies have historically struggled to raise Venture Capital because of low ARPU (Average Revenue Per User),” says Pushkar Singh , Founding Partner at Tremis Capital. India’s fantasy sports industry attracted investments worth ?15,000 crore in FY22, according to a report by Deloitte India and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports.

He says the industry consists of two broad areas currently — game development and publishing, and marketing, which includes streaming, broadcasting, and organising tournaments.

Even amid the backdrop of a harsh funding winter in the Indian startup ecosystem, Gaming-focused VC Lumikai in June launched its second fund targeting $50 million to invest in pre-seed to Series A companies in gaming and media. Games24x7 also launched Games 24x7 Ventures late last year to support early-stage startups at the intersection of technology and interactive entertainment.

While Singh predicts that we may see well-funded game development startups in the future, he says streaming and broadcasting startups are currently the ones gaining traction. Gaming tournaments enjoy a lot of viewership on Twitch and Youtube, which makes them perfect for advertising, he adds.

?? See Pushkar Singh’s post on VC funding in gaming

The GST Council on Tuesday recommended 28% GST at the full face value for online gaming, casinos, and horse racing, reports Hindu Businessline. The move has received mixed reactions, according to a Business Today report, with some saying it will help level the playing field between online gaming companies and traditional gaming companies, while others are saying it will increase the cost of online gaming and discourage the development of the industry in India.?

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Reported by: Isha Chitnis

Creator Manager: Raunak Ramteke