You’ve always dreamed of playing the latest video games available in the market but were unable to do so for want of a high-end PC or an expensive gaming console. Enter cloud gaming, also known as gaming on demand or game streaming. Now, all you need is high-speed Internet and a gamepad/ controller, and you can start ‘streaming’ your favourite game titles on your laptop, PC, mobile or TV.
Rather than running the high-quality game on your own system, which would need physical media or game installation prior to playing, cloud gaming allows you to ‘stream’ it remotely from a cloud on any device or platform, and even on multiple devices, without losing progress. No wonder, many are calling cloud gaming ‘the Netflix for games’.
In 2023, the number of cloud gaming users worldwide was estimated to be around 295.1 million, a significant increase from about 102.7 million in 2021, as per market research platform Market.us. As such, the market is also booming. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global cloud gaming market is expected to reach $84.97 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 46.9% from $3.37 billion in 2022.
Incidentally, India is one of the largest markets for cloud gaming and is expected to become the industry leader by 2033, as per a new report from Bloomberg Intelligence.
“Mature CSG (cloud-streamed gaming) markets such as the US and China, which together drive over one-third of sales worldwide, could cede share marginally over the next 10 years to emerging markets such as south and southeast Asia, and Latin America. India, in particular, buoyed by demographic tailwinds and an online population that sees gaming as a primary form of entertainment, could see the strongest growth with accelerated pace of 5G deployment,” said Nathan Naidu, technology analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Bloomberg Intelligence’s report predicts global CSG sales could grow 28% annually in 2023-33 to top $40 billion as the mobile arms of Microsoft, Nvidia and Sony tap opportunities in emerging markets and Apple opens its ecosystem to game-streaming apps. The report also sees India’s average revenue per user (ARPU) rise 15% on average annually, as against 10% in the global market.
There are many factors behind the growth in India, said Himanshu Jain, CEO of AntCloud, an Indian cloud gaming and PC service provider. “Internet penetration has increased dramatically in India, driven by affordable data plans and expanded 4G/5G networks. The increasing use of smartphones, which are getting more powerful and more affordable, provides an easy way to play in the cloud,” he said.
Increased investment in game infrastructure and technology, including cloud data centres and customised feedback, is also improving the overall quality and efficiency of cloud gaming operations, added Jain, whose company has enrolled more than 10,000 people on the platform since its launch in June, and expects the figure to reach over 50,000 by the end of the year.
Naturally, telecom operators are also realising the significance of this growing market. In January last year, Reliance Jio’s JioGames rolled out its cloud gaming platform JioGamesCloud in India. To access JioGamesCloud, users need to subscribe to a paid plan (Rs 199 per month). The introductory offer, however, provides a 30-day free trial.
More recently, in April, Vodafone Idea, too, announced the launch of Cloud Play, its mobile cloud gaming service that offers users an instant, superior gaming experience on their Android or iOS handsets, without requiring any downloads. A subscription-based service, Cloud Play is priced at Rs 100 per month (Rs 104 recharge for prepaid). Users can sample the service for free as an introductory offer before purchasing the subscription pack.
Avneesh Khosla, CMO, Vodafone Idea, said: “We recognise the potential of the fast-evolving gaming landscape with the smartphone playing a key role in making gaming more accessible anytime, anywhere… We welcome our users to the future of gaming, where the cloud is your playground and the possibilities are limitless.”