The Indian gaming market is expected to cross $9.2 billion by FY29, Lumikai an interactive media and gaming VC fund, has announced in its annual market intelligence report, ‘State of India Interactive Media and Gaming Report’.
The report, launched at Lumikai Insignia, reviews India’s new media market worth $12.5 billion in FY24, with a 30% share accrued to the gaming sector.
Eight million new paying users were added in FY24, taking total paying gamers to 148 million.
Lumikai’s report unveils the gaming sector’s surge to $3.8 billion, with female gamers now making up 44% of the nation’s 591 million gaming population. This momentum, coupled with a projected growth to $9.2 billion by FY29, has attracted both entrepreneurial talent and venture capital interest to this lucrative space, supporting Lumikai’s early conviction in the market’s potential.
The report reveals seismic advancements in crucial metrics, across all gaming segments. Key statistics include:
– Gaming accounted for 30% of the $12.5 billion new media revenue pie (comprising video content, animation/vfx, audio streaming, gaming and social media) in FY ’24.
– There are 591 million active gamers in India, with 23 Mn new users added in FY24 alone.
– 66% of gamers were from non-metro cities, with 43% of gamers being first-time earners in the 18-30 age group.
– 148 million users make in-game purchases, with eight million new paying players added in FY24.
– In-app purchases, propelled by mid-core games, grew by 41% year-on-year, and continues to be the fastest growing slice out of the $3.8 billion revenue pie for FY ’24.
– 64% of paying users who play RMG formats also pay for mid-core gamessuggesting a high degree of overlap in gamer personas and migrating preferences of gamers.
– ARPPU (average revenue per paying user) grew by 15% to reach $22.
– Average weekly time spent on gaming increased by 30% to 13 hours, doubling the time spent on social platforms.
– India is the world’s second-largest mobile gaming market, recording 15.2 Bn downloads – 3x the combined volume of Brazil and the US.
– 25% of gamers said that they have spent money in games this year, consistent with FY23, with 83% preferring UPI or digital wallets to make in-game payments.
Salone Sehgal, Lumikai founding general partner, said, “Assembling the world’s leading names in the global interactive media industry, through our keynote panel and guest list, makes Insignia the definitive platform for meaningful dialogue and collaboration among technology visionaries and investment veterans aimed at shaping India’s interactive media landscape. Both founders and international VCs stood beneficiaries of the summit, connecting India’s entrepreneurial talent with global decision-makers. Additionally, as a platform for our report launch, Insignia presented the compelling growth of India’s interactive media and gaming industry. From a 30% increase in average weekly gaming time to a sophisticated user base of 148 million paying users contributing to an ARPPU of $22, the findings garnered global recognition and conveyed market readiness for the next phase of growth”.
Developed in collaboration with Google and Deloitte, the report is an endeavour to push the frontiers of gaming technology and explore emerging opportunities that are on course to frame the contours of the interactive entertainment and gaming ecosystem.
Aditya Swamy, regional director, Google Play, said, “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Lumikai on this industry defining report. India has established itself as a global gaming powerhouse with 590M gamers and projected to deliver strong growth over the next five years. We are firmly committed to being a key growth enabler to the ecosystem and excited about the opportunity ahead of us.”
Meanwhile, the summit brought the likes of SS Rajamouli, Saudi’s PIF’s investment manager Abdullah Alorainy, Crysis and Far Cry founder Cevat Yerli, and pioneer in GPU/AI silicon space – Raja Koduri, industry veteran who previously led Graphics Computing and Engineering at Intel, Apple and AMD together.
