Indian online gaming segment expected to reach Rs 29,000Cr by FY25: KPMG report

The Indian online gaming segment is expected to more than double at Rs 29,000 crore, with the number of gamers rising to 65.7 crores by 2025, a KPMG report said on Thursday.

The report estimates that the online gaming market size was around Rs 13,600 crore with 43.3 crore gamers in the financial year 2020-21.

Of the Rs 13,600 crore, the casual gaming segment accounted for Rs 6,000 crore, and it is expected to grow to Rs 16,900 crore in the next four years, according to the report.

"The online casual gaming sub-segment in India has emerged as the largest in terms of consumption among overall online gaming, with close to 420 million gamers engaging in online casual gaming in FY21. Both the consumer spends and advertising based monetisation — which is unique to India — are likely to see strong traction," said Girish Menon, Partner and Head - Media and Entertainment, KPMG India.

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He said that high priced gaming consoles and charges in games are inhibiting average revenue per user.

With technologies such as cloud gaming on the anvil and the adoption of the latest AI/ML led technologies, online casual gaming in India is a serious business, both for the players in the ecosystem and the investors.

"We envisage the online gaming segment to be among the largest segments of the media and entertainment industry in India in the years to come, garnering a share of both the time and the wallet of the Indian digital billion," Menon added.

He said cloud gaming is going to see a huge uptake in future with 5G technology rolling out, but in India, it will take around four years to mature.

Earlier in March 2021, a report by Maple Capital Advisors suggested that the gaming sector in India attracted $544 million in investments during the August 2020-January 2021 period. This is set to double over the next 12-18 months on the back of higher user awareness and accelerated engagement, as per the report.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)