More than 40% of real-money gamers in India hail from non-metros: Meta

Gaming trends in India: Over 40 per cent of real-money gamers and nearly half of casual gamers in India hail from non-metro regions, a report by Meta suggests.

With gaming getting more popular in the country, the study by social media giant Meta said over three in every four casual and real-money gamers find the next games to play on social media.

The Meta GWI study also reflected over 90 per cent of the gamers found and purchased these games from Meta platforms. 

"Gaming is a top three vertical for Meta globally and we are particularly seeing our Advantage+ suite of automated ads drive growth for gaming brands," Arun Srinivas, Director and Head (India), Ads Business, Meta said.

Gaming is positioned to have a major role in India's techade, he added.

Of every 10 gamers who play on smartphones, the study revealed six of them game on a daily basis. 

A majority, or 90 per cent of gamers who invest in real-money gaming participate in these games atleast once a week.

The type of games are also dependent on leading sporting events, and the festive time.

88 per cent of consumers surveyed in the Meta report said they are more likely to convert from playing other real-money games to fantasy sports gaming at the time of tentpole sporting events.

These include the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the World Cup, according to the study conducted.

The top three gaming technologies that interest casual gamers in India the most include Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality, the study pointed.

According to Parth Chadha, co-Founder and CEO of Bengaluru-based gaming company STAN, rising digital consumption is one of the most important factors behind India emerging as a crucial player in the gaming industry.

This is on the back of modernisation, affordable data and growth in smartphones.   

Parth Chadha, co-founder and CEO of Bengaluru-based gaming company STAN said India has emerged as a very important player in the gaming industry on the back of ising digital consumption.

“As smartphones have become convenient to use, this opens up a platform for gaming to a wide audience,” Chadha said, adding that over 2 million gamers flock its platform everyday.

These result in over 50 million micro transactions, he said, adding that over 70 per cent of the gamers hail from Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions in the country.

There is a strong participation from female gamers as well, he added.

(With PTI Inputs)