Gaming
32 per cent of Indian gamers play daily and 52 per cent play weekly: says ‘For the Game’ report
Mumbai: In an extravagant affair, dentsu Gaming launched its gaming report ‘For the Game’ in collaboration with Indiantelevision.com. The launch took place at The Lalit, Mumbai on 2 December.
Gaming as an industry has grown by leaps and bounds in India and is now being considered as a serious profession. In the last couple of years all kinds of genres of gaming have seen an uptick from real money to casual gaming, fantasy gaming, e-sports seem to have found their share of users as well as revenue.
Looking ahead, gaming arguably offers the best glimpse into the immersive experiences the metaverse promises, and with it, the future of connectivity. Fueled by an ever-growing community of virtual reality (VR) developers and the wider availability of 5G, popular intellectual properties (IPs) will pave the way for mainstream adoption of virtual experiences, both within and beyond gameplay.
The report, ‘For the Game’ demonstrates, using a novel method for the market, that motivation-based segmentation is the most pertinent and efficient way for marketers to comprehend gamers deeply and to acquire insightful information for creative and media planning.
It proves that gaming is a prime environment for brands looking to attract audience attention through quantifiable measurement. The report also looks at how focusing constantly on added value, authenticity, and proximity to gamers may help one develop a continuous brand presence in the gaming industry through time and across contexts.
Carat India CEO & dentsu Gaming India lead Anita Kotwani said, “Gaming’s growing cultural impact, combined with the promise of the metaverse, has generated endless opportunities for advertisers. With the meteoric expansion of e-sports and streaming platforms, gaming has shifted from solitary play to spectator sport. Gaming platforms are now the main avenue for social connections and self-expression. One cannot follow the cookie-cutter approach anymore given the fluidity & dynamism of the industry.”
She added, “dentsu Gaming offers the minds and tools necessary to create and develop strategies that are relevant to the culture, promote it and graduate the brand to be a cultural icon itself. dentsu Gaming was created to deliver the tremendous expansion of gaming needs to our clients through creative partnerships, products, and solutions. We bring together enthusiastic, diversified expertise to help brands add incremental value through mutually beneficial relationships with game publishers and partners. dentsu has access to in-depth gamer audience information via priority data and analytics. Our CCS (Consumer Connection Systems) data platform has been boosted by data fusions of unique bespoke gaming surveys as well as the GWI (Global Web Index) Gaming survey, providing us with advanced gaming audience data from across 24 markets.”
According to the report’s findings, there is a game for everyone. In varying degrees, gaming is consumed across age groups as there is some or the other game available on some or the other device. People can choose their own devices, genre, and platform. The choices are virtually unlimited.
The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as the biggest recruiter in the gaming pool. Around 45 per cent of the Indian population started playing games during this period. Cheaper internet and one’s need to kill time and connect with people were the biggest drivers.
‘Real Money Game’ revenues currently constitute 57 per cent of market size but future growth is projected to be driven by in-app purchases growing at a 34 per cent CAGR. There were 120 million paying users in FY’ 22, which represents a whopping 24 per cent conversion rate.
Gaming-related content is on its way to be mainstream content. Gaming-related web series, merchandise, fashion, and music are all indicators of gaming culture making its way into the day-to-day lives of people.
Across the nine global markets used in the report’s segmentation, CCS x GWI data shows that 34 per cent of gamers play daily and 46 per cent play weekly. Whereas, in India, 32 per cent of gamers play daily and 52 per cent play weekly.
People across generations exhibit gaming habits. Among Gen Z gamers, 24 per cent play daily and 40 per cent weekly, while among millennials, the levels are 24 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. Among Gen X gamers, 17 per cent play daily and 35 per cent weekly. This implies, the gamer audience is spread across generations which predominantly plays once a week.
Gamers are not media isolated. They watch and follow a lot of content on TV as well as online TV. They spend around 28 hours a week on the medium.
Casual gamers make up the largest cohort in the gaming audience pool. They mostly prefer smartphones as their gaming device. They choose to play puzzles, trivia, 3match, and especially board games like ludo, scrabble, UNO, etc. They are not into spending a lot of money on gaming but are prone to In-App micro transactions to progress their game.
E-sports in India has evolved as a new form of entertainment. The scope for brands to associate with e-sports is massive and the receptivity from the gaming community is also high. Gamers understand that brands & sponsors are vital for the e-sports industry to go big. The fan following of e-sports is on the rise as the tournaments are only becoming bigger and more intense. The demand for updates and content has exploded in recent times and social media has been one of the key factors for driving that in the country. Fans love to follow their favorite players (47 per cent) and teams (41 per cent) for a particular game and genre they are interested in or play themselves.
AR/VR (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality) in India is still at a nascent stage. The challenge in the market is due to high cost and lack of exposure and experience. Contrary to smartphone apps made in India, the apps and technology that employ AR and VR are also underdeveloped.
The rapid rise of gaming in India has also affected the education and learning industry. A lot of education and coaching centers have now incorporated animation, game development, coding, etc. in their curriculum and offerings. Even the apps and education formats are gamified to engage the students and assist them in learning.
Gamers are passionate about gaming-related stuff but are also quite interested in fashion, fitness, and food.
Gaming as a habit is an expensive hobby. On average, a hardcore gamer spends Rs 6500 (approx) on accessories and peripherals to enhance the gaming experience.
Please click here for the entire report.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
