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International Creators Day 2024: Inside the rise of India’s top gaming creators and their path to stardom
Mumbai: In India, content creation is experiencing a remarkable surge, especially on digital platforms where creators are finding new avenues for expression and audience connection. According to the latest ‘State of influencer marketing in India’ report by EY, influencer marketing is set to surge by 25 per cent in 2024, reaching INR 2,344 crore and projected to hit Rs 3,375 crore by 2026.
Among these creators, gaming influencers are emerging as key players in driving the growth of the creator economy. The ‘India Gaming Report 2024 – Robust Fundamentals To Power Continued Growth’ states that India’s gaming content creation community has exploded, with a staggering 300,000 creators and streamers and an audience of over ~600 million users.
On the occasion of International Creators Day, let us take a look at five gaming creators who have rapidly ascended to prominence in the country’s gaming content landscape and captured the attention of audiences nationwide through their innovative as well as captivating content, distinct styles, and personalities. These gaming influencers have garnered noteworthy viewership, engagement, and ROI, establishing themselves as leading figures in the gaming community.
Raj Varma aka Snax
Raj Varma, also known as Snax, initially gained fame as an Esports athlete and has represented India at the ‘PUBG Mobile World League 2020: East.’ Transitioning to a gaming creator, his streams and content on games such as Valorant, BGMI, and Among Us have positioned him as one of the country’s most notable gaming creators.
Alongside focusing on improving content quality and viewer engagement, staying authentic has been key to Snax’s success, as he believes it results in better engagement with his audience. Consistency, entertainment, and trend-following have helped him build a strong and engaged audience base with over one million followers on Instagram and YouTube.
Parv Singh aka SOUL Regaltos
Similar to Snax, Parv Singh or SOUL Regaltos, also rose to fame as an Esports athlete, competing at multiple global tournaments for India. The 23-year-old has established himself as a leading gaming creator in India with one million followers on Instagram and surpassed the two million mark on YouTube.
The Delhi-born gamer streams games such as Call of Duty, Minecraft, GTA V, and BGMI and has the highest peak concurrent viewership amongst other fellow creators. SOUL Regaltos has also witnessed significant growth in monthly active users over the past year by utilizing a cross-platform strategy for content sharing and promotion, enabling him to understand the audience’s preferences and tailor content to meet their expectations.
Kaashvi Hiranandani aka KaashPlays
Being one of India’s leading female gamers, Kaashvi Hiranandani has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in India’s gaming content scenario. Popularly known as KaashPlays, she predominantly streams and curates content on BGMI.
The 26-year-old has accumulated over one million fans on Instagram and YouTube since joining 8Bit Creatives, India’s leading gaming influencer talent management agency which has played a pivotal role in her ascent to the top. The core strategy behind her growth has been prioritizing consistency, creativity, and audience feedback, to develop a loyal community of viewers across various platforms.
Salman Ahmad aka 8Bit Mamba
Experiencing a journey filled with challenges and triumphs, Salman Ahmad, also known as 8Bit Mamba, has cemented his position as a prominent gaming creator in India. The 30-year-old has 523k followers on Instagram and more than 1.39 million subscribers on YouTube.
Attaining a substantial viewership on his streams on BGMI, GTA V, and Among Us alongside other games, 8Bit Mamba has witnessed remarkable growth in engagement and brand deals. His commitment to staying abreast of trends, coupled with infusing creativity into his content, has contributed to his consistent growth in both viewership and audience base.
Gulrez Khan aka JokerKiHaveli
Gulrez Khan, widely recognized as JokerKiHaveli, has become a well-renowned name within India’s gaming community with over 284k followers on Instagram and more than 726k subscribers on YouTube. The 30-year-old streams games such as Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V, Valorant, Among Us, and BGMI Indian audience.
His viewership has skyrocketed after joining 8Bit Creatives which is also a testament to the effectiveness of his unique content strategies. JokerKiHaveli has attracted a dedicated audience base by not only making use of stand-out thumbnails, and titles but also embracing innovative content formats like public challenges and bootcamp vlogs.
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Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
