SocialPeta has published a report with a detailed analysis of the Indian gaming market. India’s fast-growing game industry has been covered by SocialPeta, once again to provide insights about the current market status.
According to SocialPeta data, 1.4 billion people live in India, and 0.9 billion are young people who are qualified and have the potential to become actual users/consumers. The Indian gaming market is reported at 136 billion rupees (about $1.8 billion). Although this number seems slightly lower than other competing countries, India is growing much faster than its competitors.
Popular Game Genres in India
Simulation, action, and sports games make up the three most popular game genres in India, according to data from SocialPeta. Simulation games hold the lead with 23%, followed by action with 14%, and sports with 11%.
Gun+Car+Ball games, named by SocialPeta, attract a lot of attention. In February 2022, two car-themed games were among India’s top ten most downloaded games. Examples of action and simulation genres appeared on the most downloaded list frequently.
Shooters have become representatives of the whole action genre. Especially battle royale games attract a lot of attention, and they are the most downloaded games in the last few months. Published by Krafton, Battlegrounds Mobile India has become India’s best-known battle royale game, surpassing its rivals Garena Free Fire and other rivals.
Even though they are not as popular as shooter games, casual games also occupy 9% of the market. Playrix had two casual games on the chart of top 10 games by revenue in February. The popular subgenre was identified as Match-3 games among the casual games.
Analysis of Popular Games
SocialPeta also analyzed popular games and the marketing methods used in these games. Ludo Supreme Gold, the leading company in its field, reviewed Battlegrounds Mobile India and Food Cutting games.
Ludo Supreme Gold: New on the chart, real money temptation to players
Ludo King is arguably one of the most popular games in India. The game, released in 2016, managed to become one of the three most downloaded games for six years until 2022. Ludo Supreme Gold, which is a combination of Ludo’s gameplay and gambling, likewise managed to enter the Top Chart in a short time.
The rapid rise of Ludo Supreme Gold is due to the fact that it is a mix of play-to-earn and board games. The game has straightforward gameplay and offers players the opportunity to win real cash prizes. This keeps users interested in the game.
Battlegrounds Mobile India: Social communication is the game’s core
Thanks to the solid player base inherited from the game, which is thought to have replaced PUBG Mobile, Battlegrounds Mobile India surpassed Call of Duty and became the #1 most downloaded game.
Multiplayer games create environments where people can communicate socially. Fast-paced and fast-paced games are suitable for esports and live streaming. Thus, they can reach a large user base in a short time. SocialPeta analyzed the creatives of several shooter games and found that advertisers were highlighting social interaction and making friends in the games.
Below is a Battlegrounds Mobile India ad showing how this interaction was highlighted. The advertisement emphasizes that people can socialize by playing games in their daily lives:
Food Cutting: Female gamers drive the rise of casual games
Food Cutting saw a download increase of over 1000% last February. This colossal increase indicates that hyper-casual games also have high potential in India. According to SocialPeta, this increase is directly related to the rise in the number of female players in the country. Access to mobile platforms by female gamers in India is increasing, with only 18% of women in the country previously playing mobile games, increasing to 49%. 70% of the players of some popular casual games in India are women.
According to SocialPeta, the creator of Food Cutting is marketing by targeting female players. In the advertisements published, a very muscular male actor in the upper right corner is playing the game and has not been successful. Apparently, this type of ad really manages to grab attention.
India’s growing market brings risks too
Despite all this growth, there is one big obstacle. The pandemic has played a critical role in the growth of the Indian gaming market. The fact that people have new alternatives other than mobile gaming entertainment in the post-pandemic period makes it difficult to predict whether the market is stable.
Another obstacle for India is that many of the games popular in the country do not belong to India. Despite the bans of many games and the support of Indian studios, the market is still dominated by foreign companies.
Putting these problems aside, India remains one of the fastest-growing markets for now. The market insights developers need can be provided by companies like SocialPeta. In this sense, working with a data provider can bring significant advantages to studios.
