Gaming careers gain steam after pandemic-driven boom

Playing video games in competitive tournaments and streaming gaming sessions on YouTube and Facebook Gaming have become a full-time career for many young Indians who took up gaming during the pandemic. While the intent originally was to pass the time or make some extra cash on the side, they’re now evolving into full-time careers, said industry experts.

Around 33% of 2,000 casual gamers surveyed by PC maker HP said that they are considering taking up gaming as a full-time career. The report called HP India Gaming Landscape Study 2022, also found that another 33% were thinking of taking up gaming as a part-time career. 

Good earning prospects, excitement and fun, career flexibility, recognition, and desire to make a hobby a profession were some of the top reasons cited by the participants for pivoting towards gaming as a career.

“The gaming landscape in India will create numerous job opportunities for the coming generations,” said Bharat Patel, chairman and director of Yudiz Solutions, a game development firm. 

Patel pointed out that gamers can develop their career by playing games, developing one, or becoming an influencer. “The income of a gaming professional will significantly depend upon their skills and experience as a gamer. Beginners earn Rs 3 to 5 lakh annually, intermediates earn Rs 5 to 7 lakh annually, and professionals earn around Rs 10-15 lakh annually.

According to Trinity Gaming India, which handles gaming content creators, gamers can pursue seven to eight types of careers in gaming including eSports journalism, content creation, eSports athlete, talent management, and mentors. 

“Gamers have many revenue streams, including ad money, goods revenue, platform revenue, fan engagement, and sponsorship revenue. Things under the content creation part could be different,” said Abhishek Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Trinity Gaming India. 

The HP report found that 53% want to explore a career as a gamer, 20% as a gaming influencer, 18% as a software developer, 8% as a streamer, and 2% as an animator. Career opportunities in software development and animation in gaming are also growing in India. Top gaming publishers in North America and Europe, which have been outsourcing some amount of animation and artwork to India for many years, are now asking them to work on complex characters, environments, and even level development. 

Many of the including US-based Rockstar Games and French gaming company Ubisoft have also set up studios in India and are hiring local talent. 

In April, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry also announced the appointment of a task force to promote the development of animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics (AVGC) in India. The task force, which has members from the industry, is entrusted with framing a national AVGC policy to create more job opportunities, help Indian startups expand, and provide incentives to attract FDI in the AVGC sector. 

The gaming industry in India has seen massive growth in terms of viewership and revenue. According to a November 2021 report by BCG and Sequoia, the revenue of the mobile gaming industry alone is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in revenue to more than $5 billion by 2025. 

“Gaming sector in general has seen huge growth. We are seeing a huge interest in eSports. Revenue potential also looks very bullish for this sector. We are also expecting heavy investment in online gaming. We will see more tournaments starting next year,” said Roland Landers, CEO of All India Gaming Federation (AGIF). 

This has not gone unnoticed by young gamers who are spending 3-4 hours every day on games such as COD Mobile or New State Mobile.

“Knowledge of gaming and professions in the industry has grown over the past two to three years. Every pro gamer we see today started as a casual player. Therefore, everybody who plays video games for two to three hours each day and is aware that a career in gaming is possible is encouraged to think about it as a part-time profession,” added Trinity’s Aggarwal.

The HP report also shows that 56% of women gamers are considering it as a career, while 29% said that they are considering it as a full-time career.