Indian gaming industry set to touch Rs 66,000 crore by 2029 with a growth rate of 14.5%: Pwc India Report

Gaming industry in India set to reach Rs 66,000 crore by 2029 with a growth rate of 14.5%, as compared to the global growth of 8% (CAGR) as per Pwc India's latest report. The report says that a large contributor to this change is mobile gaming. With 590 million gamers, India has now become the second-largest mobile gaming market by downloads, with figures 3.5 times higher than the US or Brazil. It also says that a total of 23 million new gamers were just added just in FY24 and backed by $2.8 billion in investments and significant job creation potential, gaming has the potential to become a key pillar of India’s digital economy.

Nitish Mittersain, CEO & Joint MD at Nazara Technologies, says “In a world where gaming is becoming a cultural and economic force, India is no longer just a consumer market, but also becoming a maker. With scale, talent, and strategic capital, Indian companies are rewriting the rules, growing from local leaders to global powerhouses.” The country’s mobile-first ecosystem, enormous internet penetration, and tech-savvy youth have made it a fertile ground for gaming, while what’s also changing is how games are being made, distributed, and funded, he adds.

Adding to this, Anuj Tandon, Partner India & UAE at BITKRAFT Ventures says, “The Indian gaming industry is undoubtedly experiencing a significant resurgence due to the   large talent pool and innovative narrative developers that are fostering this ecosystem expansion, leading to the creation of globally marketable games.”

With the gaming sector in India empowering the larger community, content and creators across the country, games have become increasingly interactive among larger audiences and platforms are working to intrigue new-age streamers and influencers from tier 2 & 3 cities in India.

Speaking about the shift in the Indian gaming market, Piyush, Founder & CEO of Rooter, “India has witnessed a significant surge in in-app purchases by gamers over the past three years, driving industry revenue growth at a 40% CAGR. Once a challenging market to monetize, improved micro-transaction behavior and effective pricing strategies are now encouraging gamers to spend more for enhanced experiences. Content creators are leveraging streaming platforms like Rooter to collaborate with publishers and raise awareness about games and their assets. Over the last two years, Rooter has unlocked multiple monetization channels, engaging with over 100 brands, numerous gaming publishers, global platforms, and gift card partners to create scalable revenue opportunities.” This rise in engagement is paving the way for real business opportunities as it has opened new doors for monetization via in-app purchases, ads, partnerships and sponsorships especially when game access is embedded seamlessly into daily routine platforms adds Piyush.

Yashash Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder of Gamezop, explains, “Web gaming, in particular, is seeing explosive traction and India is leading the charge. We’re witnessing a new wave of native users turn to web games for their accessibility, speed, and immersive play – no downloads, no wait time, just instant fun. What’s equally exciting is that India is not just consuming web games at scale; it’s also emerging as a powerhouse for web game development.”

He further says that from an infrastructure perspective, we find ourselves in a better position than ever before. Devices are becoming smarter and faster, and with 5G technology, smartphones today have more capabilities than ever. As a result, people are spending more time online, leading to a surge of apps and websites across categories.

Meanwhile, on the development front, the industry is seeing a shift toward homegrown innovation. Indian studios have evolved from providing services like localizing global titles to creating original games that are performing well on the global stage.

Anurag Choudhary, Founder & CEO of Felicity Games adds, “With a young, connected population and a rapidly evolving developer ecosystem, we’re seeing global-quality titles being built and scaled from here. We’re proud to be part of this movement by publishing Indian games for global audiences, backed by strong unit economics and technology-led operations.”