When 53% of the population accounts for 66% of the audience size, the market players are bound to reconsider their target audience. This is what is happening in the gaming industry in India. While rural India accounts for 53% of the internet consumption, they account for two-thirds of the gaming population in India. Be it puzzles, Ludo or rummy, game downloads in non-metros are increasing every day.
With the surge of the non-metro gaming population, the importance of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities has risen sharply in the Indian gaming landscape. Start a game of poker or rummy online, and chances are that most of the fellow gamers will be from the heartlands of India.
Beyond the Metropolises
Till 2021, the growth of gaming in India was metro-centric to a great extent. In 2021, Delhi held the top spot in terms of growth in the number of gamers. But by 2022, none of the metros featured in the top 10 Indian cities with the most user growth.
Looking at the state-wise growth, Uttar Pradesh emerged with the most user growth. While Maharashtra saw rapid growth in the number of users, it was not Mumbai-centric. Instead, cities like Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Nashik were among the cities with the highest user growth. Rajasthan, another state with strong growth, relied on places like Kota, Alwar, Jodhpur and Jaipur for this growth. Similar non-metro growth figures also emerge from Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur in Bihar; Midnapore, Murshidabad and Darjeeling in West Bengal; and Mohali, Malerkotla and Fazilka in Punjab.
This trend of rapid gaming penetration in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities can be seen across India. Exceeding customer growth in states like Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, and Puducherry is an indication of this trend. Apart from the rapid internet penetration, the availability of safe and reliable gaming platforms has played its part in gaming popularity. Gamers can now try gaming without any security or fraud-related concerns, be it signing in to a shooter game or going for a rummy game download.
However, the internet’s penetration into the core of India has also kickstarted a larger digital transformation.
The Larger Growth Picture
It is a no-brainer that the faster growth of the gaming community in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities has been largely due to the penetration of the internet into the heartlands of India. According to Redseer, India will have more than 1 billion internet users within this decade. This penetration has led to a digital transformation across different aspects, raising the profile of these towns and cities commercially.
E-commerce is another area that is cashing in on the rapid internet penetration in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and rural India. They are using modern marketing technology tools to improvise their strategy and promote products, keeping the regional demands of the consumer in mind. With most of the masses now seeking entertainment online, it is no surprise that digital advertisements now account for 53% of the total advertisement spending in the country.
While internet penetration is an infrastructure-based development, the market too has been conducive to internet users. The cost of data in India is among the cheapest in the world. Besides, with 5G smartphones available under ₹10,000, all the tools required for enjoying the internet are available at minimal costs.
Apart from the phenomenal growth in the gaming industry, these towns and cities have seen an overall rise in their commercial importance.
Internet Penetration and After-Effects
The fast pace of the internet has directly resulted in India becoming the second-largest mobile phone user base in the world. As the bulk of this user base is located outside Tier-1 and metro cities, the impact has been quite interesting and unique. Digital consumption beyond Tier-1 cities has kickstarted the influx of regional and vernacular content. Platforms are focusing more on these contents in a bid to attract the attention of the non-English speaking audience in India. Notably, it has been observed that 9 out of 10 new internet users prefer their local language over English.
For game developers, OTT platforms and other content creators, this calls for greater attention to regional content. Gaming studios are improvising their content to local Indian languages beyond Hindi and English. Apart from the language, games and gaming platforms are getting a ‘desi’ or local makeover in all possible aspects. For instance, you can call the customer care of rummy online platform RummyCulture and get served in four Indian languages, apart from English. Regional gaming studios in India have started developing games in local languages. Many international games, like Pokemon GO, have embraced Hindi as one of the available languages.
For Tiers to Come
As the internet reaches out to the interiors of the country, gaming fervour continues to spread beyond Tier-1 and into the towns, villages and suburbs. The internet has not only boosted gaming but also the overall commercial significance of these places. On the other hand, gaming platforms are also quick to notice the increased cultural significance of the lower tiers in India.
Thus, the internet’s penetration beyond the metros is driving the growth of gaming while reshaping the strategies in the Indian gaming landscape.
