The 5 Esports Trends for 2022 in India

In the last couple of years, India has witnessed rapid growth in the esports sector. According to Statista, in 2021, the total number of online gamers in India grew by 8% from 360 million in 2020 to 390 million in 2021.

Smartphone penetration, the emergence of esports cafes, influencers, and Covid-19 along with more affordable, quicker, and better access to the Internet are among the main factors that boosted interest in India's gaming market.

Let’s take a look at the key trends that will dominate the industry in the coming years.

1.    Increase in Tournament Prize Pools

The rewards and cash prizes for esports tournaments in India keep breaking records. The Covid lockdown has shown gamers that they can earn substantial sums of money through participation in online-only multiplayer esports tournaments. This trend will continue as well as the increased interest in esports betting.

According to Lumikai Capital and RedSeer, during the Covid-induced shutdown periods, the average time spent playing video games increased from about 2.5 hours a day before the Covid lockdowns to approximately 3.6 hours.

2.    Esports Degrees in Educational Institutions

Nowadays, more and more young people pursue a full-time career in esports. Following in the footsteps of western countries, collegiate esports has started gaining ground in India. The introduction of esports as a formal subject in colleges and high schools would lead to a greater likelihood of the development of professional gamers who consider sport as a career opportunity and income source.

It’s estimated there will be 667 million gamers in India by 2027. No surprise the gaming industry will need professional esports players to keep up with the growth.

3.    Real-Time Esports Streaming

The gaming and esports industries will embrace streaming live content, leading to more viewers and hence more money. Since the availability of high-speed Internet in India has increased notably in recent years, the vast majority of people have switched to smartphones. This, in turn, broadcasts mobile esports' potential and further expands the iGaming industry.

According to BARC & Nielsen, the percentage of weekly mobile gamers increased from 60% in pre-covid periods to 68% during the lockdown phase. Furthermore, weekly mobile gaming time increased from 151 minutes pre-lockout to 218 minutes post-lockout.

4.    Deep-tech in iGaming

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Big Data are being widely used to gather insights on esport athletes’ performances and audience interaction. Along with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, they are aimed at taking the gaming experience to a completely new level by making it more interactive, stimulating and realistic.

5.    Esports Sponsorship and Advertising

As esports is gaining momentum amongst youth in India, advertisers are expected to increasingly use esports tournament viewership to boost audience engagement, reaching up to $6.5 billion by 2025. 

The incredible growth of esports has created a lucrative opportunity for brands to communicate with their target audience. Today, investing in esports tournaments is just as beneficial as investing in huge sporting events such as IPL, ISL, PKL, etc. More and more big brands are diving into India’s esports industry, hoping to extract maximum value from it, same as with casual gaming and Parimatch is no exception.

Wrapping Up

Though India's esports market is still at an early stage, its growth prospects are promising. The gaming industry is expected to reach over 450 million gamers by 2023 and is likely to triple in value and touch $3.9 billion in value by 2025 (source: KPMG report). Being a country prioritizing innovation, India has huge potential to disrupt the nation’s iGaming industry.

This article has been written by Dmitry Belianin, Chief Commercial Officer.