Since Battlegrounds Mobile India’s (BGMI) 2021 launch, there has been a seismic shift in consumer behavior, not just in terms of downloads and users, but primarily in the increased spending on in-app game purchases.
“The perception was that in-app purchases, people purchasing more skins of the games characters and other stuff, did not happen in India,” said Anuj Tandon, Head of Corporate Development at Krafton India, Middle East, and North Africa. “But in 2021, at least four to five games in India would have made more than 100 million dollars through in-app purchases annually. This was unheard of three to four years back.”
To Tandon, 2021 was a turning point in the mobile gaming space. Increased gaming spending is why Krafton has begun investing in other gaming companies like Nautilus Mobile, makers of the game Real Cricket, as well as gaming studio Leela Games. It also has investments in gaming-related companies like esports event company Nodwin, and Loco, a live-streaming platform for gamers.
“When we invest in gaming companies, our criteria to invest in gaming especially becomes very tough,” added Tandon. “We can evaluate those companies much, much better. Esports is what we called post-game community engagement and rewarding activity, which is very important for multiplayer games. Loco is a dedicated platform for game streaming, and I believe more than 50% of the streaming happening on it is from BGMI. Both these market segments are only poised for growth.”
When pressed on whether Krafton plans to look at Web3 games, Tandon said the company does plan to invest in “deep tech AI companies in India,” where it sees synergy with its gaming portfolio. However, he added the main issue with Web3 games is that they often feel more like a job due to the stress that comes from the play-to-earn infrastructure.
“I think the second wave is when you will see much broader and larger use cases being developed for these,” he said.
(All information was provided by The Indian Express)
0 comments on “BGMI Has Had A Massive Impact On Gaming In India”