The tectonic shift in the technology revolutionizing esports

The current stats show we have 365 million Indian gamers across mobile, PC, and console which is projected to reach 440 million by 2022 according to industry estimates. This growth in the number of gamers will fuel the esports industry in a whole new way. Esports is still at a nascent stage in India and we are expecting positive growth in upcoming years.

Esports has seen decent growth over a few years, and we have also seen Indian gamers set their footprints on the global esports scene. The current pandemic has helped in shifting the focus of esports to online. The overall growth of the esports industry has been phenomenal in 2020. During the Pandemic, esports got much-needed exposure and it seems that it is slowly heading towards the mainstream.

We spoke to Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India to understand the Indian gaming industry and its future.

Rise of esports

In India, over the course of 2020 with Covid-19 lockdown in place, we saw a boom in digital entertainments and esports is one of them. The ongoing COVID situation has propelled the penetration of esports to more and more people. The esports industry witnessed the highest spike in player participation, watch time & viewership in the year 2020 and it’s moving onwards & upwards.

Esports is a sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), it was a demonstration event in the last Asian Games’18 and we got a Bronze medal. It has been included as a medal event in the upcoming Asian Games’22.

First and foremost thing for esports to grow in India is to have a correct understanding of this subject by all stakeholders including Government, Media, VCs, brands etc. Playing fantasy, teen Patti, poker, gambling, betting, online gaming etc is “not esports”, it’s “igaming”.

Competing with each other for casual or hyper-casual games online/offline is not esports. Similarly playing multiplayer video games online/offline is not esports, example if you are playing ludo online/offline with your friends, it's "not" esports.

Playing video games is not esports; there are only select genres of video games that fall under the category of esports. These genres are

a. Real-time Strategy (RTS): Clash Royale etc.

b. Fighting: Tekken7

c. First-person Shooter (FPS): Counter Strike, Call of Duty etc.

d. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA): League of Legends, Arena of Valor, DOTA2 etc.

e. Sports: FIFA, PES, Asphalt etc.

Esports is device agnostic (PC/Mobile/Console/AR/VR/MR). Esports can be online and offline both.

And of course, the recognition of esports by the Sports ministry; this will also help in building the confidence of the parents (as our esports athletes are largely from 14-20 years & their parents are not very supportive). Esports is a new Industry, just like sports you can look at becoming a pro esports athlete, a live streamer, caster, analyst, coach, Esports Arena, Academies, Team owner, Technologies for esports, event operator and so on.

Opportunities are immense and now you can win medals for the country; it’s a blank slate as of now, its needs to be developed in a structured way so that we can make India the next powerhouse of esports.

Future trends in the gaming ecosystem

Post-COVID, we’ve seen a tectonic shift in the way technology is being used to revolutionize esports in India both for the players as well as the audience. Some of the key trends & technologies that will drive the Indian esports industry in 2021 are:

Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India

Data Analytics - The increasing use of AI-backed data analytics to support developers/players/organizers alike, to research reported game patterns and to provide new insights into gaming strategies for professional gamers to better their gaming experience and to enhance their viewing experience for the audience.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) - In the coming years, Artificial Intelligence is the backbone of the esports industry, providing players with technologically advanced training tools focused on machine learning that will further improve their skills and gaming strategies. In the near future, natural language processing (NLP) instruments will gain momentum. The player-audience social experience will also be increasingly personalised by AI.

Virtual Reality (VR) - A fresh demand for VR esports is emerging with the introduction of untethered VR headsets and new games. It should feel immersive, so players feel more linked to the game.

Streaming / Content Creation - Streaming is where anyone can record or show their game by broadcasting it live over the internet through streaming platforms. Streamers can add custom graphics to their stream, communicate through a chat room with viewers, try to inform the viewers and entertain them. It enables fans to get closer to the action and to make some extra money for pro gamers and entertainers. Facebook and YouTube will lead the show in India. Streamers have been able to monetize their content and rake up good monies; streaming today is a viable career option.

Gaming as a career choice

Esports today has become a career, where an esports athlete can make decent money not only by participating in various prized tournaments but also by live-streaming their game plays on YouTube, Facebook etc. For live streaming you need not be the best, you need to be an entertainer, where you keep your audience engaged with your game play and in turn, the audiences give donations; not only that lot of non-endemic brands have started engaging with these streamers and athletes. These athletes are from an age group of 16-22 years and are raking up to 2-10 lacs rupees every month.

Some of the notable athletes worth mentioning are Tirth Mehta (Asian Games Bronze Medalist), Karan Manganani (4th in Asian Games), Abhinav Tejan (7th Ranked – IESF Rankings), Ankit Panth, Naman Mathur, Animesh Agarwal. Esports is the best way to reach out to the heart of millennials just like cricket is for the age group of 35-56 years.