Game streaming platform Rooter signs partnership with esports team, GodLike

Indian game streaming platform Rooter has announced a partnership with GodLike, a professional esports team in India. The partnership will amount to Rooter owning exclusive game streaming rights broadcasted by GodLike for games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Garena Free Fire, Call of Duty Mobile (CODM) and other “new forms” of content.

Interestingly, GodLike had announced an exclusive streaming partnership with fellow Indian game streaming platform, Loco. The latter, too, was a partnership of unspecified value, and six gamers from GodLike’s roster will now be streaming their BGMI, Free Fire and CODM sessions on Rooter instead.

During the announcement, Rooter said that the partnership is part of the company’s net investment of Rs 100 crore in the Indian esports industry. Dipesh Agarwal, chief operating officer (COO) Rooter, claimed that the company’s deal with GodLike was the “biggest deal ever signed in India’s esports ecosystem.”

Game streaming partnerships have been on the rise in India, as is the number of online gamers in the country. According to a report by consultancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) and industry body, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) from March this year, India had over 390 million online gamers in India as of 2021, which could grow to over 450 million by next year.

Such online gamers are taking to gaming, once largely considered a hobby at best, lured by an increasing number of partnerships and sponsorships in India. Rooter, for instance, partnered with Orange Rock Esports, a major competitive gaming team specializing in BGMI, in March this year to offer exclusive game streaming content from the professional players.

According to market research data from Statista, the overall gaming industry in India saw exponential growth over the past year. As of March 2022, the overall gaming industry in India was worth $1.84 billion – up from $1.27 billion, or about 44%, in one year.

In March this year, a market report by industry body, Federation of Electronic Sports Association of India (Feai), stated that by March 2025, India’s esports industry should grow to an overall worth of $14.2 billion. Game streaming and partnership deals for professional esports players, such as Rooter’s partnership with GodLike, is tipped to play a key part in this overall industry.