The coming-of-age of e-gaming ecosystem in India

South Korean video games giant Krafton’s Battle Ground Mobile India (BGMI), a multi-player mobile game, which was earlier known as PUBG, has garnered 40 million downloads in India and 60 million Daily Active users (DAUs) within three months of its release in India, Aneesh Aravind, Head of publishing, India, Krafton informed a panel at the 19th edition of the India Today Conclave on Friday. The theme of the panel discussion was “King Kong: The multibillion-dollar world of gaming. And why India is still playing catch-up”

The panel was deliberating on the coming-of age of e-gaming industry in India at a time when globally the sector is twice the size of the box office and record label industries combined. Aravind said that BGMI game — which was known as PUBG in its earlier avatar — has fostered new relationships among the gamers, thereby, creating a whole new e-gaming ecosystem in India. Krafton had decided to publish BGMI in July this year, with the pre-registrations for Android users beginning in May.

PUBG, which had become a household name several years back, had topped the download charts in India, with the country becoming the top overseas market for the app outside China. It accounted for 28.8% of the total 644 million downloads, as of September last year, according to data from the app research firm, Sensor Tower. It was then banned by the Indian government in September 2020, along with other Chinese apps over data privacy issues. The free-to-play game also brought many content creators and streamers to limelight, who later pivoted towards e-gaming as a career.