Gaming
GEMS: Psyche of Indian gamer
KOLKATA: With a spurt in consumption during the lockdown, gaming is projected to only grow further. Although the gamers are majorly young and male till now, the users are gradually emerging across demographics.
While a story of the rapid surge in online gaming is playing out, there are certain areas which need to be looked at more carefully. Google Play India business development manager Sharan Tulsiani shared insights on the ecosystem to fill the gaps in understanding.
Who are the gamers? How they discover content?
It is a cliché but the rapid expansion in smartphone adaptation, mobile broadband has definitely led the industry to maturation. At the same time, 70 per cent of users with devices with more than two gb ram, sharp fall in data cost, higher usage of UPI payment methods have also played a major role, Tulsani elaborated.
Citing a survey conducted by Google, he added that 62 per cent of Indian gamers are of 18-25 years age group, 64 per cent are male, 65 per cent are single and 45 per cent are students. The demographic ratio is almost similar for the game buyers. 18-24 years age group accounts for 67 per cent and males account for 72 per cent of buyers.
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For the discovery of new games, Tulsiani stated that the play store has emerged as the most important source for users, YouTube social media networks being other important channels. The users go to the play store for ratings, reviews and access videos on YouTube to understand graphics. However, Indians prefer to watch local influencer videos rather than global ones. Word of mouth is also a very strong source as Indian games are far younger compared to other parts of the world and hence more impressionable.
“Consumers are hungry for quality content. They also look at gaming as aspirational recreation. Thus when it comes to the functional reason behind gaming, the storyline, game design, graphics are super important for selection,” he added.
Moreover, building social experiences and community management is critical to retaining users as well. He said that social experience needs to be part of core UX. Along with plain multiplayer experience, leaderboards and asynchronous multiplayer allow interaction too. He also added that audio and video chat while playing are very popular in India.
Developers also need to take note of the barriers to payments. 63 per cent payment related issues are caused by lack of awareness, concerns over personal information sharing. As a solution to this, Tulsiani suggested that simple measures like a visual guide for users on how to make payments. He further added that simple in-game or social media banners go help in closing the awareness gap.
However, the awareness gap is not the only reason to prevent gamers from paying for games. 57 per cent of users lack value perception, which stood out as another reason. Some of them are worried about spending more money than the planned budget, many others want to want for a discount or sale. More significantly few gamers feel it is not worthy to spend money on.
According to Tulsiani, lowering the price point is not sufficient enough to convert them as paid users. As Indian consumers are value-sensitive, creating clear value for in-game items and the economy is a necessity. In addition to that, the primary aim should be converting “never spenders”.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
