Despite crossing the 500 million online players mark last year, Nazara Technologies CEO Nitish Mittersain has stated that the country has yet to unlock the true monetisation potential of gaming.
“What has not happened as yet is, if you leave aside the real money gaming, India has not caught up on the monetisation of games. That transformation is yet to happen. But again, we are at the cusp of that opportunity,” said Mittersain at Inc24’s The Maker Summit 2023.
Mittersain also stated that Nazara had adopted a conservative approach to real money gaming, as taxation policies and regulations regarding the sector were unclear. However, he further stated that there has been increasing clarity, despite notable grey zones.
“I think, if I were to do things differently going back, let’s say a decade, I would definitely double down a lot more on the RMG space than what we have done till now.”
The rise of gaming in India
Mittersain discussed the evolution of India’s gaming sector since Nazara’s founding in 2000, noting that the country initially struggled due to the lack of access to gaming devices, as well as the cost of the internet.
The low cost of mobile phones compared to consoles and PC’s result in a low entry barrier, which can make mobile gaming more popular, and profitable, than others in developing countries.
India in particular is one of the biggest, and fastest growing, mobile-first markets on the planet, with Niko Partners estimating that it could overtake China to become the biggest mobile gaming market on the planet.
Mittersain noted that limited partners and venture capital firms are increasingly taking interest in the gaming sector, highlighting the investment in Nazara by ‘ace investor’ Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as an example of the attention gaming is getting in India.
We listed Nazara Games as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022.
