By Pearl Agarwal
The global gaming industry has experienced remarkable growth, garnering over 1.2 billion players worldwide. India has also played a substantial role in this growth story. By 2023, the country boasted 500 million active gamers, with an impressive 200 million ready to invest in enhancing their gaming experiences.
However, India faces unique challenges in nurturing a holistic gaming ecosystem. Despite its vibrant developer community, the shortage of adept publishers presents a significant barrier to the sector’s growth within the country. Following a thorough analysis of the global gaming landscape, Eximius Ventures has identified the missing puzzle piece in India’s gaming landscape: the absence of high-quality game publishers. This gap hinders developers from effectively addressing distribution challenges and reaching their target audiences.
Game Publishers and Their Need
A video game publisher is responsible for distributing games, whether developed internally or externally, utilising their significant financial resources and distribution expertise. They also hold a deep understanding of various consumer groups and genres, leading to exemplary financial outcomes. By cross-leveraging their network and user base across various games, publishers further amplify the reach and impact of the games they distribute.
Developers often struggle with global game promotion due to capital requirements and a lack of internal distribution capabilities. Publishers alleviate this burden by leveraging their financial strength, industry connections, and sector expertise to effectively distribute games and reach the target audience. In return, they may opt for revenue sharing or gain control over the entire IP. Additionally, they provide upfront development costs and inputs to assist developers during the building phase as well, enabling indie studios to reach a wider audience.
The Indian Game Publisher Landscape
The Indian publisher ecosystem is still in its early stages of development, with only a few platforms facilitating effective game distribution and monetisation for studios. While companies like Jio Games, MPL, Winzo, and Nazara have made significant progress, there remains a noticeable lack of publishers focused on genres, particularly for mid-core games. This gap often leads domestic developers to focus on hyper-casual and casual games, limiting overall industry growth.
In 2022, only 6% of Indian customers’ spending went to domestic producers, with the majority, 41%, going to publishers from the USA and China. This dominance contrasts with more mature gaming markets like the USA and China, where domestic publishers command a larger share of local spending. The decline in the share of Indian publishers from 11% in 2020 to 6% in 2022 underscores the substantial untapped potential in this sector.
The Role of Publishers in India’s Growth As second-generation studios emerge, the necessity for publishers in India becomes increasingly urgent. Indian publishers with specialised genre-specific and geo-specific knowledge can play a pivotal role in the comprehensive growth of the gaming industry in India through the following avenues:
● Investment Opportunities: Publishers provide financial backing, investment, or funding opportunities for developers, enabling them to focus on creativity and innovation without financial constraints.
● Strategic Partnerships: High-quality publishers can form strategic partnerships with developers, leveraging their expertise to enhance game quality, marketing strategies, and overall market positioning.
● Access to Global Markets: Publishers that have the networks and resources to facilitate international distribution can help Indian games tap into global markets and reach a broader audience.
● Genre Diversification: With specialised publishers focusing on different gaming genres, the industry can diversify beyond hyper-casual and casual games, catering to a broader range of player preferences.
● Talent Growth: Publishers can elevate developers by nurturing talent, managing intellectual property, advocating for industry interests, fostering innovation, and promoting cultural representation.
In recent years, Indian developers have experienced notable growth, marked by the establishment of major studios like EA and Ubisoft in the country. With successful titles such as Raji and Asura, India’s game development landscape stands at a pivotal juncture.
To propel the industry forward, local publishers equipped with a deep understanding of customer psychology must emerge, enabling them to implement bold initiatives tailored to the Indian market. These publishers can also introduce innovative monetisation models aligned with the value-driven mindset of Indian audiences. The recent launch of a publishing arm by Nazara, coupled with government support promised by the PMO to foster the growth of India’s gaming and esports industry, sets the stage for an exciting journey ahead. Such initiatives hold the potential to create globally competitive gaming IPs originating from India, facilitating the global export of Indian culture through games.
The author is the founder and managing partner of Eximius Ventures