For gamers, this is vital. Competitions such as the one cited above are bit-part earning sources, where the prize pool is divided across varying categories, and also depends on multiple variable factors. In developed economies, to earn well, gamers rely on streaming popular titles on platforms such as YouTube and the US-based Twitch to enthusiast communities, who subscribe to their favourite gamers. These creators also rope in brand endorsements in order to generate a steady monthly income stream—thereby cementing gaming as a viable primary profession of choice.
In India, the story is somewhat different, so far. Here, creators who stream their gameplay on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as homegrown gaming-centric streaming upstarts such as Rooter and Loco, have so far seen a slow pace of uptake for endorsements or payments from viewing audiences. Their streams on platforms are not heavily monetized as of now due to multiple factors—biggest of which are a nascent audience that’s mostly underage, and a lack of understanding of games and their impact among decision-makers in corporate firms.
For instance, Mint research of a pool of over 20 esports players, content creators and influencers that post content across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Rooter and Loco found that while top gamers such as Animesh ‘8bit Thug’ Agarwal and others with over 2 million followers across platforms make upward of ₹40 lakh ($51,000) per annum, nearly 90% of India’s aspiring gaming influencers earn less than ₹3 lakh ($3,600) per year—not enough to choose gaming as a primary profession.
Rajan Navani, national chairperson for media and entertainment at Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and chief executive of digital media firm Jetsynthesys, said that the slow growth of monetizable audiences for gamers is not unnatural.
The gaming profession
“It’s important to note that esports streaming and influencers on social platforms grew in developed markets through PC and consoles, over the past five decades. In India, gaming as a viable profession has just come to the fore because of our mobile user base. This has given us great potential, but monetization is still low because our audience is the first generation of its kind,” Navani said, underlining why streaming still remains a bit-part contributor at best.
Salone Sehgal, founding partner of venture capital firm Lumikai—India’s biggest gaming investor, concurred. “India is fundamentally different as a streaming and gaming influencer market from the West, where this economy has thrived for almost 15 years, and big tech platforms have played a big role in supporting this. Here, our esports economy is hardly four years old as a profession. We’re yet to see an Indian IP come out of a domestic game studio—something that remains work-in-progress. Companies such as Krafton are only now coming in from abroad to invest in our ecosystem,” Sehgal said.
Earlier this month, C.H. Kim, Krafton’s global chief executive, affirmed that the company is investing $150 million in India in the next two years as part of its efforts to expand its presence in esports and digital media ventures. “We see monetization still as a small proponent in India’s gaming ecosystem. However, India has a massive scale, which makes it strategically important as a growth market for the next five years,” Kim told Mint.
Spending on esports
Stakeholders, therefore, see India as a gaming influencer market that’s primed for growth in the next five years. However, right now, gaming is not a thriving profession as yet. Rohit Agarwal, founder and director of gaming influencer marketing firm Alpha Zegus, said that one key hurdle is lower denominations in India’s spending on gaming streams and influencer pitches.
“When we look at audiences subscribing or paying to watch a gaming live stream, in India, so far the payments are between ₹20-50 ($0.25-0.60) per transaction—which is very low. In developed markets such as the US, the denomination for each transaction falls between $10-20—which makes gaming influencers viable in such markets. Further, brands have started focusing on endorsing creators for short-form content than longer-format live streamers of video games. This has hurt the prospect of brand endorsements, and further, platforms such as YouTube have reduced the visibility of live streams—which too has hurt gaming influencers and creators,” Agarwal said.
Abhishek Aggarwal, founder and chief executive of fellow gaming creator management firm Trinity Gaming, further added that one key piece that is missing from the brand endorsements puzzle is variety. “So far, in India, you mostly see gaming brands—such as Logitech, Zotac, Nvidia and the likes—endorse a select range of top gaming creators. However, FMCG brands, which contribute to a bulk of overall advertising revenue across online platforms, have largely kept away from endorsing game streamers. This is one major opportunity that has not affected the market as yet, because the potential for growth here is tremendous,” he added.
Growth taking off
The story for gaming influencers is, therefore, only taking off—one that Navani, Sehgal and others believe will mature in the space of the next five years. “So far, the key viewer base of esports streams were below the working age. Today, Gen-Z is coming into the working fold. As they reach decision-making roles in the next five years, gaming endorsements and monetization is undoubtedly primed to receive a boost—which will further encourage more gamers to pursue careers as influencers, beyond just competitive tournament gaming,” Navani added.
As Kaashvi Hiranandani, a gaming influencer with a cumulative following of 3 million across social platforms, said, “The ad monetization rates for gaming still remain much lower for gaming influencers, in comparison with other categories. This is one factor why monetization remains low.”
As such factors begin to change, India’s esports economy could give birth to a vast scale of gaming influencers that can choose mobile gaming as a primary title. That day, however, is not here yet.
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