India’s game market could grow from $3.8 billion in 2024 to $9.2 billion by 2029, according to a report by Lumikai.
That represents a 20% compound annual growth rate. Lumikai, a venture capital fund in India focused on games, also said that India’s $3.8 billion gaming market is about 30% of its broader $12.5 billion new media market.
Gaming is India’s fastest-growing new media segment. The new media market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 16%.
Such growth is similar to China’s growth in gaming a couple of decades ago, making India the next hot market that game investors should follow. Gaming is in the process of surpassing India’s vaunted Bollywood film industry.
The report found that out of the total of 591 million gamers (up 23 million from a year ago) in India, female gamers rose from 41% to 44%. And in fiscal year 2024, more than eight million new paying users were added, taking total paying gamers to 148 million.
India is the world’s second-largest mobile gaming market in terms of downloads, with 15.2 billion, or three times the combined volume of Brazil and the U.S. And 25% of gamers said they have spent money in games this year, consistent with FY23, with 83% preferring UPI or digital wallets to make in-game payments.
