Brands
Game on: Non-RMG takes the winning shot in India
MUMBAI: When the chips are down, India’s gamers are levelling up with play without pay. A new report by Mumbai-based VC fund Lightbox says the country could soon shift from being a volume-heavy market to a value-driven gaming powerhouse, as the spotlight moves from real-money games (RMG) to non-real money titles.
India already has a formidable player base, with nearly 420 million gamers logging in regularly, second only to China. Yet while downloads surge, monetisation lags, with India’s average revenue per user at just 3.03 dollars compared to 68 dollars in China and a hefty 215 dollars in the US. That gap, however, signals massive untapped potential.
According to Lightbox’s India’s gaming inflection: Non-RMG at scale, the future lies in casual, mid-core and esports titles, fuelled by in-app purchases, ads, and subscriptions. A poll with Rooter revealed that three-quarters of gamers already spend on non-RMG add-ons, with 31 per cent shelling out more than Rs 1,000 each month on battle passes, cosmetics and unlockable content.
“The question is no longer about scale,” said Lightbox managing partner Sandeep Murthy. “India can leap from a volume-driven market to a value-driven giant. If given the right content and community, gamers will pay.”
The shift comes on the heels of the Promotion and regulation of online gaming act, 2025, which banned RMG and its advertising. While the crackdown clipped one wing of the industry, it has given non-RMG games legitimacy and fresh tailwinds.
Advertising and esports are also scoring big. Casual and hyper-casual titles are becoming brand playgrounds, while India’s esports revenue touched 100 million dollars in 2024, with sponsorships making up over half the pie.
Regional language content and hyper-localisation are further fuelling the boom. Nearly 75 per cent of gamers prefer Hindi or other vernacular titles, while AI-powered storytelling and cloud gaming are tipped to supercharge the next phase of growth.
Globally, gaming is a 177.9 billion dollars industry set to hit 198 billion dollars by 2027. With its young, mobile-first players, India’s paradox of high play but low pay might just be its superpower, turning the world’s second-largest gamer base into one of its most lucrative.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
