India’s love of the smartphone runs deep, with it performing as the best-selling consumer electronics product category across the nation consistently for almost a decade. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that for many people the smartphone has been the most efficient, cost-effective and accessible way to get online, join the global conversation, and participate in the huge app ecosystems that have grown up around iOS and Android.
One area where this has been born out in abundant fashion is in the gaming sector. Mobile games are a huge sector today – one that accounts for over 50% of all revenues produced by the industry in 2024. Many analysts point to mobile gaming as the future of the market, both in India and beyond, and the consistent player numbers and interest from developers all point to this trend.
With that said, what are the best performing parts of the mobile gaming market in India today, and what do they tell us about the modern media diet of a nation that has embraced the disruptive potential of the smartphone with great enthusiasm?
Browser Experiences
Mobile browser gaming is seen to be a major growth area on the subcontinent. This refers to a wide array of titles and platforms, so can be difficult to encapsulate easily – but the core uniting principle is that it refers to games that can be accessed with little more than a web connection on a mobile browser, opening the door to free, resource-light and innovative titles that appeal to the more casual gamer.
Among the largest components of this trend is the iGaming sector which comprises the likes of online casinos. While most people who play mobile titles tend to go through the app stores, online casinos are primarily optimised for use through mobile browsers and thus represent a significant component of this sector.
In light of this, a number of dedicated platforms such as Vegasslotsonline IN have emerged in a bid to cater to this growing market by offering thousands of unique titles all in a directory. What’s more, this and platforms like it have become sources of aggregating available and reputable gaming providers by furnishing their prospective patrons with competitive welcome bonuses and other sign-up offers for use with them. This not only fosters organic growth, but confers meaningful discounts to new and returning casino gamers.
Elsewhere, popular minigames like 8 Ball Pool have come to capture an outsized part of India’s mobile gaming market. This simple minigame, published by Miniclip, has broken records for daily player numbers in excess of 30 million – and the vast majority of these are known to originate in India.
Mobile Esports
One area in which India has sought to emerge as a global leader is in the realm of mobile esports. Esports – for the uninitiated – is the name used to refer to competitive video gaming, and in recent years it has become a big deal.
While esports has been developing for many years – with its heartland of South Korea serving as the origin of both the term, and some of its most prestigious tournaments to date – today, esports is a global phenomenon.
Much of this can be laid at the feet of the so-called esports boom, which embraced the disruption of mainstream sporting events in the early 2020s to catapult itself into the limelight as one of the world’s fastest growing sports.
And it truly is now enjoying sensational growth, enough to put it on a par with similarly popular rising sports like the T20, and Formula 1. In light of this, local governments across India have explored the prospect of investing in the next generation of esports talent. For example, the recently announced Kerala Esports Apex project, an initiative set up to promote the development of the sport in the southern state. It is set to invest around Rs 359 Cr. over the coming years in developing Esports gyms, and even providing coaching opportunities to would-be esports athletes as a component of their broader sports curriculum.
One may reasonably question why India, of all places, is seeking to become such a major esports hub – but the truth is, it’s home to the largest player numbers globally of a number of leading esports, with the incredibly popular battle royale Battlegrounds Mobile India, leading the charge with some 10-15 million Indian daily players.
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