Video games in India

Over the past few decades, the Indian gaming industry has gone from close to nonexistent in the 1990s to one of the top markets globally in the late 2010s.

Additionally, it was reported that in FY23, 41% of gamers were female and 66% were from non-metros, with each user on average spending 10–12 hours per week on video games.

[5] Video game development in India is still underdeveloped compared to other Asian countries, such as Japan, China and South Korea.

[3] However, the growing amount of gamers in India has attracted interest from global video game companies.

[citation needed] Large game conventions began to be hosted in India when its industry was projected to earn ₹4,200 crore (US$490 million) in 2014.

[24] In the game, you play as a priest tasked with exorcising a woman named Kamla who has been possessed by a demon.

[27] Asura, a PC game created in 2017 by Ogre Head Studio, draws on aspects of Indian mythology.

[30] In July 2020, prime minister Narendra Modi called for more video games based on Indian culture as they had "huge potential" to promote national pride.

[33] The games make use of surreal and fantastical visuals and environments to evoke Indian children's literature.

[33] Missing-Game for a Cause is a role-playing video game produced in India by Leena Kejriwal and Satyajit Chakraborty.

[35] Mobile gaming in India has grown exponentially because of inexpensive smartphones, high-speed 4G internet connection, and convenient access.

The December 2023 issue of this report also asserted that between FY20 and FY23, India’s online gaming segment witnessed a notable CAGR of 28% culminating in a market size of INR 16428 crores in FY23.

In addition to that, Indian gaming industry presently employs around 100000 individuals and is expected to generate more than 250000 jobs by 2025.

[citation needed] These two, along with Moinuddin Amdani and Abhinav Tejan, have been recognized by the ESFI as the top 4 esports athletes and will represent the country at "global competitions".

It was exclusive to the most popular Indian gamers, such as Adii "Dynamo" Sawant and Chetan "Kronten" Chandgude, split into 18 teams of 4.

[49] The event was live-streamed on the official BGMI Facebook and YouTube pages and reached a peak of 547,888 viewers at a time, deeming it a success.

[51] On both days, teams played three matches on the game maps Erangel, Miramar, and Vikendi in that order.

[50] Team Snax, made up of players Raj "Snax" Varma, Samir "Kratos" Choubey, Randeep "Attanki" Bhallar, and Daljit "Daljit SK" Singh, emerged in first place with a total of 127 points and received ₹3.3 lakh (US$3,800) of the ₹6 lakh (US$6,900) prize pool.

[51][52] Following the success of the Launch Party, Krafton will be hosting its first BGMI India Series esports tournament.

In March 2019, PUBG Mobile was banned in the Indian state of Gujarat after the local government decided the game was "too addicting and violent" and a distraction during exam season.

[10] They believed the apps were "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India.

[64] India is one of several countries to have banned PUBG mobile in 2020, including China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Korea, Jordan, Nepal, Israel, and Iraq.

Battlegrounds Mobile India does not allow players under the age of 18 to play more than three hours a day without parental consent.

[66] The governments in several Indian states have imposed bans on online gaming which involve wagering money.

[67] In 2021, the Tamil Nadu government announced a ban (which was subsequently deemed unconstitutional by the Madras High Court) on online versions of games of skill like Chess, Trivia, Fantasy, Rummy and Poker.

[12] In Karnataka, a hub of the Indian tech industry, a ban on online betting games was also proposed in 2021.

[11] Karnataka's ban has been extended to online games that require users to pay an entry fee.