The gaming industry - Where is it going?
Startup
What is the common thread linking Tanmay Bhat, Astralis, Twitch, PewDiePie and Netflix? “ESPORTS” - yes it is an industry that has slowly and steadily carved a big, USD 175 billion big space for itself and is only going to grow as more people spend an increasing amount of time behind the screen. Today, we’ll find out all about the business of games.
Introduction
Gaming platforms have recently served as virtual spaces for people deprived of social interaction due to the challenging times. For an industry that started in the early 70s in the form of arcades, gaming has now become one of the fastest-growing segments of the media and entertainment sector. Up from the current USD 175 billion, it's expected to cross the USD 200 billion mark by 2023.
What factors have led to this rise in India?
Increased interest from VCs - USD 544 million of funding from Aug 2020 to Jan 2021
60-70% reduction in customer acquisition costs
Gamers live gaming on Youtube
Availability of vernacular gaming platforms
These coupled with the availability of time during the pandemic helped games such as Ludo King and Teen Patti ride the waves of success in India. This resulted in India achieving the world’s second-highest casual gaming downloads.
The metaverse effect
Thanks to Open World platforms such as Roblox, Minecraft etc, online gaming became a new “hang-out” spot.
In a world devoid of restrictions, people can live their dreams and brands can expand their influence. As the upcoming generations get immersed in the metaverse, advertisements are not the only option for brands to reach their potential audience.
Selling products directly to beautify avatars is an emerging business model. The Fabricant, a digital-only clothing brand, is compelling fashion giants such as Gucci, Burberry, Balenciaga, etc to explore this new segment.
Newcomers: The entry of Netflix
These changing consumer affiliations have driven leaders of other Media and Entertainment segments to take gaming seriously. Streaming giant Netflix, owing to the plateauing growth in subscribers, now plans to enter this market.
Netflix has previously licensed gaming rights for their shows and has even created interactive programs such as Black Mirror Bandersnatch, but whether they can please the “Digi-sapiens” is yet to be seen. However, with Mike Verdu, a gaming industry veteran, at the helm, this bold move by Netflix might just pay off.
Monetization: Is it worth it?
The gaming industry can be broadly categorized into three segments:
Mobile
PC
Console
The time when one would get yelled at for playing online games every day is long gone. A professional gamer easily earns somewhere between USD 90k-120k per year from brand partnerships, streaming, tournaments, and esports events. In fact, plenty of famous professional players are known to pull in north of a million dollars.
Increasing VC interest
Significant growth of this sector has piqued the interest of various investors. In August 2020, India saw the launch of the first fund dedicated to gaming and interactive media startups in India. Headed by gaming veterans Justin Shriram Keeling and Salone Sehgal, Lumikai has invested in around 5 startups (3 disclosed and 2 undisclosed) and are still on the lookout for a couple more.
Conclusion
The gaming industry is in constant flux. The future of this shifting landscape is yet to be decided. However, the current trajectory of the industry seems to be happening at an advanced pace.
The advent of 5G is likely to bring about a cloud gaming revolution.
Esports has now been officially recognised by the Indian Olympic Association and added as a medal event in the 2022 Asian Games.
Direct-to-Avatar (D2A) segment is projected to be the new Direct-to-Consumer.
But whatever the advancement, how the 2.7 billion gamer population around the world chooses to spend their money will decide the future of this industry.
“Breakdown of Governance in UP”: Open letter by ex-bureaucrats
Politics
On June 9, 2021, a group of 87 former civil servants, in an open letter, criticized the BJP led Uttar Pradesh administration for breakdown of governance and “blatant violation of rule of law” in the state.
The letter highlighted the state government’s use of criminal charges to crush dissent, extra-judicial killings, rising vigilantes and their legitimization, misuse of anti-conversion law against minority communities and shortfalls in the Covid-19 management.
“Breakdown of governance”
The letter has been endorsed by over 200 eminent citizens, including former IAS, IPS, IFS officials, and provides data and examples for every allegation. The signatories alleged that all branches of administration in Uttar Pradesh have collapsed.
“We fear that, unless checked now, the damage to the polity and institutions in the state will result in the decay and destruction of democracy itself.”
Mismanagement of Covid-19 crisis
Criticizing the UP government, the letter spoke about the crumbling health facilities in rural areas, deaths due to oxygen shortage and bodies being spotted in rivers and buried in graves along the banks.
“The world bore witness to the catastrophe that the people of UP had to endure owing to the failure of the government to act in time. Reports from crematoria show that across districts, deaths are being massively undercounted in Uttar Pradesh.”
Force against anti-CAA protestors
According to the letter, in regards to protests against CAA, NRC and NRP, the UP government almost immediately responded with an armoury of repression including stun grenades (normally deployed against terrorists) and tear gas shells, filing 10,900 FIRs against protestors and killing 22 people in police firing.
Last year, In Lucknow hoardings showing photos of activists and civil society members accused of damaging public property and inciting violence were put up.
Love Jihad and Anti-conversion law
Love Jihad, a conspiracy theory, purports that Muslim men target Hindu women for conversion to Islam by means such as seduction, feigning love, deception, kidnapping, and marriage. This is claimed to be a part of a broader "war" by Muslims against India, and an organized international conspiracy, for domination through demographic growth and replacement.
UP, among other states, has enacted an anti-conversion law to penalize “love jihad”.
The letter highlighted that under the garb of “anti-conversion law” the police is filing arbitrary cases against Muslim men who are either in a relationship with Hindu women or have married them.
The report claims that within a month after the law was enacted, 86 people in 16 cases were booked for conversion of Hindu women. 54 people were arrested and the accused in all cases are Muslim men. “This idea of “love jihad” – without legal, empirical or official basis – must be jettisoned.”
6476 encounters in 4 years
The letter added that as per police data, between 2017 to 2020, 124 alleged criminals were shot dead in 6,476 “encounters”.
According to the signatories, these encounters cross some more lines as the data shows that most people killed in these encounters are either petty criminals or innocents, predominantly Muslims, Dalits and other backward classes, against whom no charge has been proven.
Similar letter in 2018
After the December 3, 2018 killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and another man in mob violence over alleged cow slaughter, a similar letter was written by 83 former civil servants, including ex-foreign secretaries Shyam Saran and Shivsankar Menon. The open letter demanded the resignation of the CM Yogi Adityanath. So far, no official response or action has been made against these letters.
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