The recognition of esports by Indian government will open new growth opportunities for the industry players. Sharing his views on this, Sanjeev Mehtani, Chief Sales Officer, Acer India said, “Though still in its nascency, the Indian video game and esports business has experienced a significant boom in the past few years. Online gaming users are anticipated to increase from 481 million in 2022 to over 657 million by 2025, according to recent statistics. The gaming industry is growing far more quickly than most other digital industries, including movies and music videos. In terms of the gaming industry, India has already surpassed a number of leading countries.”
“Also, the remarkable rise of women in the ever-growing Indian esports industry has demanded the need for flourished opportunities for the country’s female gamers. We believe women play a crucial role in the growth of the gaming industry. As online gaming becomes mainstream, the industry will be more gender-neutral. At Acer, we continue to stay invested in the growth of the women's gaming community,” added by Sanjeev.
Initiatives for Accelerating Esports Industry Growth
Acer has been putting huge efforts to contribute towards growth of Indian esports industry. Talking about Acer’s strategy to push market growth, Sanjeev said, “The Predator League is held annually by Acer to reinforce the Predator brand’s commitment to supporting the gaming industry and in the Asia Pacific region. This is a fast-growing community and Acer Predator Gaming League (PGL) is a landmark event where we have seen significant participation from men and women alike. Predator is the brand with a complete gaming device line ranging from laptops, desktops, monitors, and accessories. The league attracts millions of audiences and thousands of gamers playing for hundreds of hours throughout the month-long festival.”
Major Challenges for Gamers to Grow Professionally
Commenting about the challenges being faced by gamers, Sanjeev said, “The gaming and eSports industry has been recognized as one of the most popular among other industries in India. Players need hardware that enables them to play video games at the highest performance levels in a competitive environment without any issues. High-performance hardware is expensive because it requires so much technological skill. Unfortunately, there are some well-known stereotypes about the players and the industry, such as antisocial behavior and obsessive playing hours.”
Support Required from Government to Drive eSports Industry Growth
Acer is a leading market player in India, when it comes to esports market. While briefing about the suggestions for bolstering the industry’s growth, Sanjeev commented, “Competitive gaming will now have a lot more depth to its structure because the term "Gaming" will also be included in the official multi-sports sections. As a result, every competition will be treated with the same respect as previous athletic competitions. Also, by taking this move, the local gaming business will be promoted, and esports will be able to thrive in a more dynamic setting. India has already hosted the Asian and Commonwealth Games, and now they may compete fiercely in the esports industry.
Sanjeev further added, “Gaming industry is evolving and growing at a rapid pace, there is a need for us to work upon developing the knowledgeable and skilled workforce. Hence, government should focus on providing suitable opportunities to all the gamers as they receive appropriate information and perform better. Adding to this, gamers also need improved infrastructure, more investment should be made in research and development of games, and better access to technology.”
