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Indian mobile gaming to become a $5bn+ industry by 2025: report
Mumbai: The gaming sector in India is growing faster than most media sub-sectors – including cinema and home entertainment, audio and more. The industry is currently generating $1.5 billion revenue and is expected to triple to $5 billion plus by 2025 on the back of the “mobile first” phenomenon, according to a BCG-Sequoia India report.
The growth has largely been catalysed by better smartphones, increased internet access, popular titles, influencers, and the global pandemic, said the report titled ‘Mobile Gaming: $5B+ Market Opportunity’ released by Sequoia India in partnership with BCG to assess the current mobile gaming market in India, and its prospects for expansion.
The Consumer Survey conducted by BCG as part of this report gathered insights from 3200+ respondents across 21 locations in India, and investigates gaming habits of the Indian gamer. It probes into the evolution of Indian mobile gaming in terms of genres, engagement, and monetisation dimensions.
“The gaming industry in India has seen a growth of almost 40 per cent in 2019-20, more than that of OTT, television and social media platforms. 86 per cent of this market consists of mobile phone users. While there is large dependence on ad revenues today, increasing traction and engagement is expected to drive higher willingness to pay which will drive new ways of user monetization and rising ARPUs in the coming years,” said BCG managing director and senior partner Vikash Jain.
The report also highlighted how India is emerging as both an investment opportunity and a talent hub for the world.
“Monetisation of Indian games, which has been a concern in the past, is already at $1.8B revenues ramping up very rapidly. The industry is witnessing a significant investor interest in Indian gaming. In fact, a third of all the funding for gaming in India came in the first quarter of 2021. The rise of gaming platforms is especially exciting, as evidenced by 80 per cent of all funding going to platforms,” said Sequoia India managing director Rajan Anandan, talking about investor sentiment.
According to BCG managing director and partner Mandeep Kohli the Indian gamer is not defined by their demographic. They are rather defined by their context – their needs, preferences, and gaming habits. “An average player who plays to avoid boredom may spend around one to two hours on games, while a die-hard gamer who plays for the competitive spirit, can spend nearly double the time on gaming while playing the same game or a different game all together. Companies that are able to understand these varied consumers and identify which ones are they really serving are the ones which will lead the market,” Kohli explained.
The report also highlighted key imperatives that will drive the next wave of growth for this fast-paced industry. These include enhancing the discovery and adoption through casual and free to play games, improving usage and retention by diversifying genres to increase engagement and retention, and effectively driving monetisation through localized pricing strategies, among others.
“80 per cent+ of the mobile gaming market is driven by user spends, i.e., in-app purchases and real-money games, further catalysed by wide availability of quality smartphones, affordable internet and UPI,” said Sequoia India associate Prachi Pawar.
It also delved deep into the strategic choices of some of the successful mobile gaming companies in India — Nazara, MPL, Dream11 and Gameskraft. “Being the first movers in their respective segments, some of these companies have helped shape the Indian gaming market. They continue to bet on new growth opportunities and build competitive advantage to stay ahead in this high-stakes game,” said BCG principal Wamika Mimani.
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X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
