Esports at Asian Games Adds Legitimacy but More Work Needed in India

The annual India Today Group Conclave featured an esports session titled 'King Kong: The Multi-Million Dollar World of Gaming, And Why India Is Still Playing Catch-Up.'

Esports athlete Naman Mathur, also known as Mortal, was among the distinguished panellists. When asked how much a pro gamer can generate revenue and if it is a financially viable option, he emphasised that India needs more tournaments and games to make esports a viable career option in India.

Aneesh Aravind (Head of Publishing, India Krafton), Prasad Mangipudi (Managing Director, Sportzlive), Naman Mathur a.k.a Mortal (Esports Athlete), Anish Kapoor (CEO, Infinix Mobiles India), and Vishwalok Nath (Business Head, Gaming & Esports, India Today Group) were among the panelists who discussed the various aspects of the gaming industry while sharing insights on its future.

Aneesh Aravind, India Krafton's Head of Publishing, stated that esports Being a part of the Asian Games adds a lot of legitimacy to esports, not just for the games that are participating, but for the entire industry, and certainly competing for the country is a great feeling. Even for Asian Games, this is necessary in order to attract a young audience to watch the games. So they get a yes. They require Asian Games, and he believes Asian Games require them as well.

The process before the launch of the game

When asked about the process prior to the game's release, he stated that when Krafton decided to do publishing in India, they looked at what the market was, where it was going to grow, and the player base that was already present. So they said they were going to launch BGMI, which took some time because players were clamouring for it. It was incredible when they released it. They were able to get 40 million downloads and 16 million DAU in a week. What they saw was the gamers' passion, not just the numbers. So they looked at the passion and decided that was exactly what they wanted to build their product around.

Mobile companies are creating better gaming experiences as a result of new innovations. According to Anish Kapoor, CEO of Infinix Mobiles India, there is a lot going on in the RND space. They have developed a Darlink technology that is unique to them. They are providing people with the opportunity to experience gaming on a budget. When they say that the budget segment of Rs 8,000 to 20,000 is where they want to focus their efforts. They are working to bring gaming to tier 2 tier 3 tier 4 cities and get younger people involved so that it can be a career option for them.

Mortal was among the first few poster boys of PUBG mobile

Mortal was one of the first few poster boys for PUBG Mobile when it was first released, and he has seen tremendous success since then. The transition has always been upwards, and the experience has been fantastic; he was studying B Com and wanted to be a company secretary while studying LLB. He was also uploading videos on YouTube just for fun, similar to how people go to play outdoor games at 5, and one of those videos went viral, and people began to recognise Mortal. He went viral thanks to PUBG. It is currently BGMI, according to Naman Mathur aka Mortal.

Mortal also emphasised the significance of having more games and tournaments. More games, tournaments, and investments are needed in India, he believes, for esports to grow on a large scale and become a viable career option in the future. He also advised new gamers to choose between esports and content creation as their primary focus. It takes a lot of mental pressure because he has to sit and play for a long time and then stream at night, so only one will be better.

According to Vishwalok Nath, Business Head, Gaming & Esports, India Today Group, India Today gaming began in October 2019. It was their very first tournament. In fact, they opened fire throughout the country. They were extremely sceptical.

They initially estimated that only 10,000 to 20,000 people would attend. But, to their surprise, they received 1,25,000 registrations and 12 million video views between October 2019 and now, and they created ESPL, the first-ever franchise tournament in gaming. It received one million registrations and one hundred million video views. In one and a half years, there has been a tenfold increase. He went on to say that ESPL was unique in its field.

During the session, experts from the various gaming sectors highlighted the opportunities and ambiguities that Indian esports still needs to work on in order to become a global esports powerhouse.

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