Esports is far from becoming a full-time sporting career option for Indian gamers.
The ecosystem, however, can change quickly with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) creating the Olympic Esports Games, set to take place in 2025 and Indian video gaming landscape experiencing unprecedented growth in 2024.
The Indian video games market is set to surpass $1 billion in 2025, with a forecasted value of $1.4 billion by 2028, growing at a five-year CAGR of 11.1%, says an India Market Model Report by Niko Partners.
Chess (chess.com) and Tennis (Tennis Clash) will be among the most popular avenues for India for a podium finish at the Olympics.
Chess was recently included as one of the titles at the Esports World Cup, boasting a substantial USD 1.5 million prize pool.
India has already been making waves in the sport on global level with grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju recently becoming the youngest World Champion.
The Indian gamers will now have a chance to follow the suit at the Esports World Cup, slated to run from July 31 to August 3, 2025 in Saudi Arabia with chess recently included in its roster and at the first ever Olympic Esports Week from June 22-25, 2023 in Singapore.
The WAVES Esports Championships (WESC), officially supported by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, will be another key event to watch out for in 2025.
It will include some of the most popular esports in India: Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), World Cricket Championship (WCC), and eFootball.