For most gamers today, eSports is much more than well spent leisure time. It is a massive booming industry, rivalling more conventional sports like cricket and football, for attention.
If you’ve played video games, then you’re probably aware of what eSports is- competitive video gaming where players compete as teams or as individuals, depending on the nature of the game.
eSports first got prominence in India with Counter Strike 1.5 in the mid 2000s. Back then the most popular manner of competition was via Lan cafes, dotting the Tier 1 and 2 cities. With the launch of CS go in 2012, eSport had truly arrived. Today players compete in a wide range of genres; Multiplayer online Battle Arena (MOBA), Real-time strategy (RTS), First Person Shooter (FPS), Battle Royale and Fighting.
The most popular games are; BGMI, DOTA 2, CS Go, Starcraft, Street Fighter and FIFA.
India is ranked 16th on the Forbes eSport list in a multi-billion dollar industry. With the low entry thanks to mobile gaming and cheap data tariff, and the huge population that has access to scores of daily online competitions, India is threatening to become a world leading market in this space.
From the early days, where India was another peripheral market for game publishers, today, no game can be successfully marketed without an Indian specific strategy. In India, the numbers contribute to developers having specific eSport strategies for their games to be in place.
E-commerce stores have contributed to the growth of esports in India. Gamers have access to accessories and hardware they need. Teams have invested in creating battle hardened entities that are followed by millions of fans, creating a frenzy for best teams and players that has been missing in India for the better part of the existence of eSports.
Organisations like Esport Players Welfare Association (EPWA) are banding the community of eSport players together. Bringing all under one roof, in order to drive the industry forward while keeping the players at the heart. The government too has taken notice, now with eSport an official medal event at the Asian games and the Olympics. With a mad scramble for official status between various federation factions, players are wary about the future of eSport governance in India. All stakeholders, including publishers and tournament organisers are waiting to see how the situation plays out. All this, while players are quietly grouping themselves together under an independent organisation like the EPWA, ensuring that their voices are heard.
