Top Gaming Startup's in India: Indian Gaming Industry
We all know that today the gaming industry has evolved and grown tremendously. The arrival of tools and devices like virtual reality, sensor-based gaming, and others has taken the gaming experience to a whole new level.
Now, let us look at some of the facts about India's gaming industry then we will talk more about it.
Did you know that in the last nine months of 2020 India has seen a rise to the number one spot on Mobile Game Downloads, counting to 7.3 billion installs, and install volume rises to 17% market share as per SensorTower's data
India's gaming user base has exceeded 365 million in March 2020 according to KPMG's media and entertainment report. India's gaming industry is rising high in the air and is valued at $930 million and guess what guys!!! , we are at number one.
Whenever I look at these stats I think, How India's gaming industry is on the rise?
To understand this, there are some major reasons behind this growth which are working together and helping in this growth rate.
1. Mobiles are staging the games
In the market, mobile gamer forms an 85% of the industry, following by PC users at 11% and tablet users at 4%. In 2019, Inc42 discovered that the major revenue of Indian gaming and eSports companies was $68 million with internet penetration at 30%.
During their peak times, PUBG Mobiles had 34 million Indian users and India alone was responsible for downloading battle royale 175 million times.
2. COVID-19 turned us away from T.V.
The pandemic has a huge impact on the gaming industry, we all know this. Just look at the stats, on average Indians spend 218 minutes on gaming versus 151 minutes before lockdown, according to BARC & Nielsen report. Now, the global investors are looking at India and it is expected that by in coming three years Indian gaming market to grow by about 36%.
There are other secondary factors also which work, for example, the adaptation of the advertising industry- the flow towards more digital marketing strategies. As gaming is growing, the Indian government is expected to play a more vital role in regulating and facilitating the gaming Industry.
By looking at the flow of the market towards the gaming industry there are many upcoming startups also which are participating and doing great.
Let's look at some of the popular startups and their products.
· GameEon
This startup was founded in 2011 by Nikhil Malankar and their head office is in Mumbai. It was started as an idea in 2009 by 10th-grade kids. The journey was not easy, slowly slowly they started to learn more about game development. The founders of GameEon have proven themselves right by launching 14 successful games in six months in 2014.
Their upcoming project is becoming quite famous in the industry; "Mumbai Gullies". It is GTA inspired game and is all set to launch soon. The game will release on Steam and Epic Games for PC soon.
· GodSpeed games
The headquarter is located in Pune, Maharashtra, and founded in 2012. This company provides quality assurance and game testing support across all platforms and also in different genres. They develop games and provide end-to-end support for software and app development.
The cool thing about them is that they are licensed with Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft with access to all the latest hardware. They provide many more services and you should definitely check them out if you are looking for support.
· Nodding Heads Games
I recently watched the trailer of Raji: An Ancient Epic and believe me guys I loved it. The graphics, the quality everything is top-notch. Many Global popular Gaming Youtubers also praised this game. This game is developed by an Indian Startup based in Pune, Maharashtra - Nodding Heads Games.
This startup focuses on Indian Mythology and folklore and you can see this thing from their stories and projections. Even our Prime Minister in his speech he said "we need more games based on Indian Folk Tales". I think it was a signal to the country's largely unheralded communities of developers that their fortunes might be about to change.
· EclipsePlay Studios
Eclipse Play is a newly launched Gaming startup based in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The motivation behind starting Eclipse Play Studios is to promote Indian Mythologies and Folk story-based games.
Recently they had launched their first game called MAKTH: Prologue, and it is exploding in Stores. I personally played the game and believe me guys, I loved it. The graphics were nice; the storyline was exceptional, and the game really haunts me, you should it once.
· Junglee Games
It is one of the most successful startups on this list, it was founded in 2012, moreover it has been funded by top VCs of Silicon Valley. The Junglee Games have over 50 Million users. They have created one of the fastest-growing games and some of the notable games are Junglee Rummy, Teen Patti, and Howzat.
If you will look at their works you will feel like Games are in their DNA. Their strength is their team, they have, you can say, the best team you can imagine. Their team members have worked on international AAA titles like Transformers, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Real Steel, Rio, Mech Conquest, and Dueling Blades. Their designers have worked on some of Hollywood's biggest hits including the movie Avatar, etc., etc. Currently, the Company is expanded in over 7 Countries with 25 Million active users.
NOTE- They are currently hiring in India, So you can apply moreover Thank me Later!
· Nazara Technologies
They are one of the oldest gaming companies. The company was founded in 2005 by a 25-year-old young entrepreneur Sandeep Singhal.
Today the company clocks revenue of Rs 450-470 Crore in this FY. The company has 100 million Monthly Active Users moreover they also have invested more than $50 Million in other 13 Startups.
And guys, recently the company has launched their IPO and The Rakesh Jhunjunwala backed the company.
Games Like Epic Cricket, WCC3, Ludo, Motu Patlu, Chota Bheem Speed Racing, Carom, and many more, were some of the hits from them.
· MoonFrog Labs
This is a Bengaluru Based startup and has created famous games like TeenPatti Gold, Ludo Club, Rummy, and others. Currently, the company is valued at $90 Billion in FY 2020.
The company is committed to radical mobile gaming and bringing engaging entertainment to all of us.
I personally love TeenPatti, and back in 2014 when, I and my friends started to play this game it became an addiction. The concept was new and it also gives chance to compete with our beloved ones.
Today the company has been acquired by Swedish gaming studios StillFront Group. But let's see what happens to this giant Company that just reached to $90 Billion in 7 Years.
· Zapak
During our childhood when gaming was evolving we all have heard of Zapak. Zapak was launched in 2006 and was heavily supported by Reliance Group. Zapak is used to create browser games. It became widely popular on Nokia Store and Zapak had launched many gaming Zones also in the Mega-Cities.
During 2007-2011 the company was at its peak with having more than 5 Million users. Games like WWE, Wheels on Fire, Online Cricket, and many more were launched and they became massive hits. But then slowly slowly Zapak loses relevance as android starts to gain popularity. The point here is that Android overtakes most of the casual gaming but Zapak was not able to evolve at that rate. You can still play the Browser games.
· Rolocule
Rolocule was founded in 2010 by Rohit and Anuj in Pune, Maharashtra. The company came to light when their first three games – Touch Squash, Super Badminton, and Tennis get more than 35 lakh downloads in over 100 countries. I personally like Dead Among Us, it's just nice. They have also won many prestigious awards like the Edison Award, Apple's editors Choice, and Game of the Year at NASSCOM.
You all should try their games and they are available on all platforms.
· Ability Games
Ability games is the fastest growing real money making companies of India. It is Kolkata based and it is owner of popular gaming sites like 11wickets.com, pokerlion.com and also have sports portal, Sports.info. They make games which uses real money and they create real money online games only.
Games like Poker and Rummy has 100 millions of active potential users. Ability Games is counted in fastest growing real money platforms.
Just be careful while using your real money, play wisely.
So, these are some of the top Gaming startups in India. We all had come across their products once in a while and I think that we should support and appreciate our home startups. But the games like Raji have proven that the Indian gaming industry is going to be the next hotspot for investors and in coming years we will observe more high-end graphics games in the market.