While the pandemic posed as a challenge for most of the industries out there, the gaming industry seems to have grown immensely during this period.
With most people stuck at home with some extra time on their hands looking for different ways of interacting with others, many, as the stats show, turned towards gaming as a viable option.
For example, Steam- a popular PC digital game distribution platform in China, reached an all-time high count of 19.1 million users in February when the country was in lockdown.
Similarly, the gaming internet traffic in the US alone went up by 75% since the lockdown was put into effect. The game sales rose by 73% in April in the country, with other countries showing similar positive numbers.
Changes in the gaming industry post the COVID-19 pandemic-
CAGR growth in role-playing games: The global role-playing games market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.22%. Many RPG games have reported a 10% to 50% increase in engagement, especially in the markets most affected by the coronavirus.
Increasing demand for streaming games: With various countries adopting to 5G and cloud computing services, the demand for online streaming of games is at an all-time high.
The digital game distribution system will likely become bigger: With the availability of physical copies of games being impacted during this period, the digital storefronts took the lead. Even the biggest fans of physical media had to turn towards platforms like Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network to get their gaming fix.
Remote game developing teams are the new normal: What seemed almost impossible for most gaming companies a few months ago is a reality now. Putting the question marks over effective collaboration and creative outputs to an end, many gaming companies have thrived while working remotely during this pandemic. The answer is clear: Geographical distance and barriers are no longer a deciding factor.
Promising markets experienced accelerated growth: While the gaming scenario improved worldwide, it was the promising markets like India that saw exponential growth.
With over 75% Indians using the internet every day, benefiting from the cheapest data rates in the world (1GB of 4G = $0.09), utilizing frictionless payments, and 450M+ game-ready smartphones, the market already showed a lot of potential.
After the lockdown was announced, the number of active gamers increased from 53% in March 2020 to 67% in just one month. Reports suggest that there was a 41% rise in time spent playing online games.
Platforms like Gamerji registered a spike in its daily active users from 12,000-15,000 pre-pandemic to 40,000-50,000 in this period. Paytm First Games growth increased by 200% and the platform observed 75,000 new users joining daily.
Interestingly, casual games like Rummy, Ludo, Pool, and Snake Wars saw the maximum traction with the number of users doubling per week. Mobile game downloads significantly increased in April and peaked at 197 million in a single week, 75% more than the previous quarter’s weekly average.
This current market scenario creates the perfect time for expanding your gaming company and starting an offshore team in India. With the remote working scenario being the new normal, you can stay assured of the productive capacities of your team as well.
We at Braves can help you set up your mini game studio in India without any hassles.
If you are ready to up your game, contact us today.