Global Esports CEO Dr Rushindra Sinha took to Twitter recently to discuss India’s mobile esports industry, reports AFKGaming.
Despite the increasing profile of India’s mobile gaming industry, Sinha believes that the long term prospects of esports in the country are shaky, particularly citing the recent ban of popular titles such as BGMI and Garena Free Fire by the Indian Government.
“Mobile Esports in India might have a lot of eyeballs but it isn’t a sustainable business (talking specifically about ‘Esports’ and not content),” wrote Sinha.
“The top games have gotten banned and even without a ban it’s the Wild West with little to no structure or sustainability.”
SInha remarked that the lack of structure and sustainability could make it difficult for mobile esports in India to establish a foothold on the global stage. While India is quickly emerging as one of the world’s foremost mobile-first markets, this could result in the esports sector being left behind.
Opportunity for growth
Although Sinha stated that many with a stake in the future success of the Indian esports industry, including publishers, tournament organisers, and brands, are working towards fixing the issues, he admits that a solution has yet to be found.
Sinha notes that these issues could benefit the country in the long term, offering opportunities for disruption and innovation which could allow the industry to thrive, should it successfully navigate the current turbulence.
“We’re going to restructure how we approach mobile esports over the next few months and take all our experience and knowledge from the last 2 decades and work towards something sustainable.”
The ban of BGMI was cited as partly responsible for developer Krafton’s slow growth in Q3 2022. However, the company remains committed to the Indian market, stating last month that it was confident the ban would be overturned.
We listed Krafton as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022.
