Resumption of esports LAN events and diversified gaming content set the year 2022 -

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by Samuel Pordengerg Dec 31, 2022 News
Resumption of esports LAN events and diversified gaming content set the year 2022 -

Over the past few years, the industry has grown greatly. The transition has aided in the growth of the sector.

The bronze medal win by the Indian team at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship is one of the most prestigious moments for the Indian industry.

There has been an increase in game content developers since the Pandemic. Since the ban on the two popular titles like Free Fire and BGMI, tournamentOrganisers are bringing in more of the other titles like Chess, Pokemon Unite, and so on.

The first post-pandemic esports event was organised by Skyesports and was called Souvenir Mumbai. The Indian gaming industry continued to grow after the start of the tournament. Both indigenous and non- indigenous brands were exploring the market. The brands have shown a lot of interest. New players, organizers, investors, and sponsors are all attracted to the game. According to experts, one of the most popular forms of entertainment will be e-sports.

Shiva Nandy, the founder and CEO of Skyesports, gives an insight into how the year has been and what the future holds.

Shiva Nandy

It has been an interesting year for the sport of e-sports. Two of the biggest games in the country were blocked. The industry was able to restrategise and focus on different types of business. We saw PC games like VALORANT become more popular and now we are trying to revive two games that were the base of the cafe culture in the country. There was interest from non-endemic brands to invest and advertise in the gaming scene. Due to the game bans, this was slightly hampered, but I expect it to continue. As a result of the bans, we had to make a number of changes to our yearly plan. Due to the ban on Free Fire and BGMI, the number of people who wanted to play this year is lower than we had projected, but we are still profitable.

One of the highlights of the year has been the expansion intoSEA. We are looking forward to growing over there even more because it is a huge and exciting market. The VALORANT tournament and an all-female MLBB competition are the first things we have done. The Skyesports SEA Championship MLBB reached a peak of over 16,000 viewers.

We have a plan in place for the year 2023. We are going to come up with a huge intellectual property for the two games. The big orgs of the country are interested in entering this, and we have discussed it with them. We have a plan coming up for Pokémon Unite. The India phase of the competition is being executed by us. We are excited for the future of the game. We will be investing a lot of money into SEA. We are going to enter a lot of games in the region. There will be more grass root-level tournaments from us in the future.

Jai Shah

It has been a roller coaster ride for Orangutan gaming co- founder Jai Shah. We were able to get some of the best content creators as well as the brand campaign. There are many opportunities in the year 2023. We are branching out into the global industry through games such as DOTA 2. We are trying to grow the army and perform better in the future.

Sachin Parkale

The growth of both the talent and business side was like never before in India. We undertook many major projects, including signing GodLike and Team iNSANE, as well as collaborating with partners like Wings, STAN and many more. We have big plans for Numen in the years to come, from projects with our partners, to creation of content and intellectual property for fans. We are excited to make big moves in India because of the continued growth of gaming and e-sports. The CTO of Gamerji is Valay.

Valay Patel

It was a roller coaster year for e-sports. We had a lot of traction in the space, with the number of people playing video games growing by more than 3x. The ban on the two major titles left a big hole in India's growth. The number of daily tournaments increased from 180 to 500, while the number of users increased from 1.5 million to 5.7 million. There will be a lot of new gaming titles coming out in the next few years. New Indian publishers are releasing titles that will help grow the grass root gaming community.

The founder and CEO of 8bit Creatives is a person.

Animesh Agarwal

It was a landmark year for the industry. The gaming industry will be propelled to unprecedented heights once high speed and low latency are fully implemented. The debut of 5G was one of the game-changing developments of the year. High speed and low Latency will change the lives of players and propel the gaming industry to unimaginable heights. Big data and the internet of things have allowed the industry to become more vigilant and dynamic. Web3 has made it possible for developers and game players to become economically independent. Enhancement of gaming experiences has been helped by these additions. The sector has become more self-sufficient thanks to data management.

The rise of the metaverse was a topic of conversation this year even though it received conflicting reviews. Whether or not it has a significant impact on the Indian gaming sector remains to be seen, but as far as trends are concerned, it has definitely grabbed attention. The Esports industry will benefit from these tendencies gaining traction.

The ban of one of the most popular games in the country was a big blow. The event has led to an increase in the number of games played by players and organizations. Other game developers have recognised the potential to increase their market penetration in India and have invested in that industry. The Indian gaming industry needs a stable and mature industry.

I am looking forward to the inclusion of Esports in international multi-sport events. The IOC's decision to host the Olympic Esports Week in 2023 has the potential to change competitive gaming around the world. The IOC is attempting to push Esports in the right direction, and this is a positive development.

There has been an increase in large sponsorship from non-endemic brands. In order to get to know their key demographic, they have turned to gaminginfluencers. The target demographic of the game is very digitally savvy. Combining this highly engaged fan base with their ability to find interesting material and not just conduct brand plugs will make gaming the most sought-after influencer in the next year. In-game trade, monetization, and transactions viaBlockchain and play-to-earn games, which have captured the attention of Indian gaming enthusiasts, will be a major part of the industry's rapid expansion next year.

There is a founder and CEO of Revenant Esports.

Rohit N Jagasia

The entire esports industry in India was surprised when the most loved game in India received a prime time slot on Star Sports. VALORANT, Pokémon Unite, New State are just a few of the titles that have been released in the last two years. It's going to be a good year for esports, with the Pokémon Unite Asia Championship followed by a World Championship again and a solid plan for the year for both games. The VALORANT Challengers League will be a big intellectual property in 2023, I think it will be exceptional for India with the diversity and growth we have seen in India this year.

The Esports Federation of India has a vice president.

Lokesh Suji

Since the Pandemic, the industry in India has kept exceeding expectations, and this year was no different. Mainstream media such as television, OTT platforms, and INOX have broadcasted tournaments in order to spread awareness about gaming. We have seen brands and celebrities take a keen interest in exploring the gaming industry and use it as a way to collaborate. Video gaming streamers have become a key medium for brands to enter the industry due to their success. The most important aspect of video gaming in the country is the inclusion of Esports in international multi-sport events with India winning a bronze medal in DOTA 2 at the Commonwealth Esports Championship. This is the golden age for Indian Esports on the international stage, with participation in the upcoming Asian Games, Olympic Esports Week, and possibly AIMAG 2025.

We are eagerly waiting to see how the metaverse, Web 3.0, and 5G will affect gaming in the upcoming year. There will be a lot more physical LAN tournaments being conducted on a large scale in the years to come. We have the Asian Games to look forward to where India is going to compete in five Esports titles for an official medal.

Santosh Pecheti

This year has been a testament to the success of 7sea. We have achieved many victories, including taking first place at the BGMI Showdown. The music video 7SEA RISE UP has helped us establish ourselves as a lifestyle brand. The addition of content creators with background in music, fashion, and lifestyle has solidified our presence in the industry. I and other important figures within the company have represented 7Sea at various panels and events throughout the year. We are proud of what we have accomplished and are looking forward to the future.

7Sea is excited about what the future holds. Expanding into additional gaming titles is one of the big plans we have. We were awarded several awards, including Best Coach of the Year and Best branded collaboration, at the MGEN Summit organised by Animation Xpress. We can't wait to see what the future holds for us and our followers with our motto #RISEUP and never settle for anything less than the top. There is a creation of gaming content.

Along with an increase in viewers, gaming content creators explored different types of content. Content management companies in India are helping creators with better brand recognition, partnerships and so on.

Diversifying content is important for the creators. Reviews of gaming devices, game development, and vlogs are also included. The creators were able to reach more people with the daily styles. In addition, they are increasing their reach through sponsored content, and they are also increasing their content portfolios to include original series, podcasts, and advertising campaigns. The meet and greet of creators has become a crucial component where fans can connect with and meet their favorite creators of gaming content which has created huge buzz. Fans are interested in the NFTs.

Producers can improve audience resonability by partnering with indigenous and non- indigenous brands. Although viewers liked all types of content produced by their favourite creators, live streams have proven to be the most popular among followers because they allow them to connect with the streamer in real time

Here are the perspectives of content business specialists on their year to date and their goals for the next five years.

The founder and director of Alphazegus.

Rohit Agarwal

Over 5000 more creators are taking on gaming as a content option in the creator economy. More brand endorsement opportunities, monetisation tools, and streaming opportunities are some of the things that have risen due to this. Since COVID is out of the picture, we have seen a rise in physical/on-ground events, which is getting fans, players, content creators and brands to finally engage face-to-face. Over fifteen big-scale events have been seen. More Web3 brands are interested in the space and are creating a new type of gaming.

We are expecting to see in 2023.

There are more scale tournaments and events for teams and audiences from all over the region.

There are more Web3/Metaverse related innovations in the gaming industry.

Adoption of 5G and its effect on the mobile gaming industry.

The founder of the Loco.

Ashwin Suresh

The Indian gaming industry grew to over 400 million players and 100 million active players. Multiple streams crossing the 100K concurrent mark followed by a record-breaking 100 million views for the BGMI Master Series 2022. The highest live sports audience after cricket in India was seen on Loco. The Indian team made its first-ever appearance in the tournament at the Commonwealth Championship in the year 2022.

Looking ahead to 2023, 5G technology will accelerate consumer behavior towards the adoption of gaming and live streaming as a mainstream entertainment platform. Gaming will become even more entrenched in popular culture, and more advanced technologies and platforms like ours will provide consumers with richer gaming entertainment experiences. As the industry continues to gain quantum growth, commercialisation will become increasingly prominent, with bigger events, larger prize pools, more advanced technology, and an even stronger audience interest. Merchandising will also become more widely available, providing gamers with more opportunities to show their support and loyalty to their favourite games, teams and streamers.” Rooter founder and CEO Piyush Kumar

Piyush Kumar

India is home to almost 450 million people who play video games. The market has grown due to a younger population base, higher purchase propensity of gaming consumers, the introduction of new gaming genres, and better internet infrastructure. This has led to the creation of a strong content platform that includes live streamers, gaming content creators, and players. There is growing legitimacy for esports in India, similar to traditional sports at grassroots and global levels. The gaming population is expected to get a further boost with the introduction of more mobile-first gaming titles. Rooter is poised to ride the wave of gaming and content creation due to our focus on content, creator, and commerce. We introduced multiple content formats, became the first gaming content platform to monetise, and strengthened our creator tools.

We expect to play the lead role in driving India's Gaming creator economy and are working to build out more content categories, develop a robust commerce platform and expand our brand partnership portfolio beyond the 100+ brands we've engaged with in the past. The sunrise industry is going to be a defining year in the years to come, and we are in a good position to steer it. We hope that year 2023 will bring a stronger and progressive growth to the industry, as the Ministry has recognized it as a sport.