Mukesh Ambani: “Gaming will be bigger than movies”

Esports is the next big thing and industry bigwigs and celebrities are betting big on it. Drake invested in the esports team 100Thieves, and so have other celebrities and sports stars in the west. Back home, it seems like it hasn’t escaped the notice of India’s biggest industrialist and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. 

Speaking with Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella in Mumbai, Mukesh Ambani said: “There is a huge potential" for gaming to grow in India. Gaming will be bigger than music, movies and television shows put together." However, he also said, “gaming doesn’t really exist in India.” Compared to the western gaming scene, his statement is true. But when it comes to mobile gaming, India is one of the leading markets in mobile gaming, thanks to the popularity of PUBG Mobile. In our interview with Mr. Roland Landers, the CEO of All India Gaming Federation, he said, “The impact of the online real money gaming industry on the economy is significant. Currently, the size of the Industry is approximately Rs 4000/- crore and it has created sizeable direct and indirect jobs.” 

Mukesh Ambani’s statement could also be a foreshadowing of how big Reliance's expansion is going to be in the world of esports. Jio esports has already been established and in all probability, it will cater to mobile esports in India. With the backing of one of the most powerful men in the world, esports might soon flourish here.