The government recently banned Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) under Section 69A of the IT Act, the same provision used to bar PUBG Mobile. The recent ban on BGMI, which was launched just a year ago has triggered questions about the future of e-Sports in India.
The Indian e-Sports industry is at an early stage of growth compared to the market in the countries like US and Japan. But as per the experts, this industry has seen huge growth in recent years.
The country is far behind China, the US, and South Korea in terms of e-Sports revenue earnings, coming in at number 16.
It is understood that while gaming fans are constantly looking for new ways to improve their skills and demonstrate their competence, the e-Sports industry in India has the scope to grow in the coming years.
Growth so far
Yash Pariani, Founder of the House of Gaming told News18 that in terms of both spectators and prize pool distribution, e-Sports in India has grown rapidly in recent years.
“In the past 5 years, e-Sports has experienced over 200% growth in terms of viewers along with its prize pool soon being able to compete with the biggest sporting leagues in India," he noted.
Similarly, Kowshik Komandur, AVP with one of the leading mobile entertainment companies, also mentioned the ascending growth chart of this sector.
He said that by 2025, there will be approximately 85 million viewers, generating an estimated industry income of approximately 1100 crore while referring to the Federation of Electronic Sports Associations India (FEAI), the governing body for e-Sports in the country.
According to Komandur, “As the consumption of live stream content is rising, gamers are targeting audiences via such live streaming platforms. Brands have also increased their ad spends in the space by at least 30% in the past 2 years."
“For marketers, e-Sports is the focus area to target millennial and GenZ audience," he added.
Valay Patel, CTO of Gamerji, a leading e-Sports tournament platform in India, told News18 that currently, the country is home to 430 billion mobile gamers and the figures are going to increase in the coming years.
He said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, high profile sporting events and tournaments like IPL, Pro Kabbadi League Hockey Pro-league games, National Games, etc were either cancelled or delayed for long periods. Students moved to online schooling and these factors presented an organic opportunity for the e-Sports industry to emerge in a big way as everyone was indoors and was looking to engage in activities where a team may or may not be needed."
Patel further noted that the availability of smartphones, as well as affordable and fast internet service adoption and upgrades in India, have also played a major role in this growth.
However, Asutosh from Esportslive said: “The growth that we see is concentrated with very few teams or companies. The rest of the ecosystem doesn’t have any visibility or chances for growth."
He explained that there are a few elite teams that are well-known throughout the country and are asked to play in every tournament. However, promising teams are not given enough opportunities to perform on the big stage.
“In my opinion, if India wants to perform well on the large stage then the players need to get the chance," he stated.
BGMI ban
Asutosh called the ban a “nightmare for every BGMI gamer and e-Sports company".
He said: “Players, companies, and streamers are going all in for BGMI and suddenly the game is shut down. It breaks the morale of aspiring e-Sports athletes, organisers, etc."
Asutosh believes that this type of prohibition may be a significant letdown for those who see e-Sports as a potential career choice.
While explaining the impact he said for an aspiring young talent between the ages of 17 and 24 who wishes to build a name for himself in e-Sports, the first step is to persuade their parents to allow them to pursue e-Sports as a career.
But, according to Asutosh, sudden bans like BGMI leave these young people vulnerable and make it tough for them to choose a career in this sector.
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