Restrictions to go out amid the lockdown have forced people to look for alternatives at home. With a surplus time in their hands, people are looking for ways to kill it through games. Online gaming is emerging as a popular option among people as a new way to quarantine and chill. Following this, Gaming companies nowadays are seeing a surge in their traffic.
According to the Internet Exchange Board, a spurt in traffic was observed in gaming and Over the Top (OTT) streaming services since the outbreak of the coronavirus infection.
In a recent report named ‘Gaming - India Story’ by Maple Capital Advisors statistics have shown a 24% rise in the use of the online game platforms. The report forecasts growth of around 32% in the gaming industry of India. The total revenue of $3.7 billion is expected from this business by 2024.
India with over 570 million Internet users is a big market for this industry. More than 85% of the population access the Internet through mobile phones. It makes gaming and streaming platforms more feasible for a large number of people. According to the report, during February 10 - 16, 2020 and March 16 - 22, 2020 gaming websites and apps registered a 24% increase in use.
“The services consumption has boosted significantly with a rise in engagement by 20-30% from the users. This happened despite no live sports which drive much traffic on fantasy games.”
- Pankaj Karna, Founder, and MD, Mapel Capital Advisors
Gaming platforms such as Games2Win, WinZO Games, Hitwicket, Gamerji, and Rummy, etc. are in trending now. Following this trend, investments in these platforms are also gaining traction. The growth in the Indian gaming industry is likely to attract 2x times more investment in the next 1-2 years.
The online gaming industry in India is among the top 5 in the world. With likely huge investments, the business might step-up in the chart even further.
The growing user engagement has also made the downloading and streaming services heavy. Many users complained of not being able to log in to their X-Box console. The sudden traffic has left the platforms bewildered. Since people are now accessing the platforms during work hours, the traffic is increasing every single hour.
Mostly the multi-player games such as Ludo, Carrom, and Royal Battle are spurting in usage as people are playing them with their families and friends. Around 60% gaming population is in the age group of 18-25 years and most of them are males. But, now with the lockdown more female population is also turning to games. A huge chunk of users is from metropolitan cities with a growing user base from Tier – II and Tier – III cities as well.
The future of the gaming industry looks quite bright. With new game start-ups coming into the picture, the industry is estimated to get double in size. Investments are likely to accelerate and the user base is multiplying manifold. It appears that Lockdown has emerged as a boon for this business.
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