How the rise of a mobile game changed the dynamics of multiplayer gaming and is redefining the world of esports in India. By Sushant Bhostekar.
There’s no denying that PUBG Mobile took India by storm, thriving like no other in the Indian subcontinent. PUBG Mobile’s popularity stemmed from a pre-established interest in multiplayer games, wherein people could play alongside each other, match against their friends, and have fun. One of the first multiplayer games that won the population’s attention was Mini Militia, where the player’s virtual character dons a tiny soldier costume and enjoys knocking down the opponent with guns and grenades, thus making swiss cheese of their friends!
However, India wanted more. It craved for a game with more realistic and end to end action — a perfect fusion of games like Grand Theft Auto and Counter-Strike. And boom, as if by magic it appeared, the first-of-its-kind, the Battle Royale game the fans had been waiting for: PUBG Mobile.
The buzz surrounding PUBG Mobile’s release was wild, with the game registering a whopping 100 million downloads in its first week, 5 times the number of downloads PUBG PC and Fortnite registered globally in their opening week. Eventually, although virtually, Pochinki (a map in the game) became the most visited place in India. The game now has more than 600 million downloads in 2020, with that number continually on the rise due to the “stay at home culture” that has recently become a somewhat perplexing part of our daily lives. Anyone can play, all you need is a touch screen phone.
The masterstroke of Reliance:
In March 2017, the ‘2G spectrum,’ an alleged scam committed by the former government said to be worth $37 million conversely benefitted many who were avid Internet users. While the telecom industry battled to revive itself, the subsequent period of affordable mobile data packs led to the growth of the smartphone market in India.
Reliance’s introduction of JIO was nothing less than a revolution. Eventually, more and more people began to use the Internet, with social media also booming. The makers of PUBG (Tencent Gaming), couldn’t have possibly sought a better time to launch their game in India. India has always had interesting relationships with the G’s, from Parle G to 4G. However, the launch of 3G proved to be a catalyst for Indians to witness first-hand what high-speed Internet is all about.
The explosion of the smartphone market, coupled with the multi-folded the ‘m-commerce’ industry, led to a new wave of digitalization. Today, India has become a promised land in the m-commerce scene, with many developed nations eager to learn its tips and tricks.
But back to PUBG: all of these changes meant that market conditions were perfect for PUBG to become a major success upon its release in India. Judging by the above mentioned figures, I’d say that seems about right.
The rise of PUBG in India:
Globally, the video gaming industry is worth more than $100 billion, with India representing a treasure trove of possibilities for esports organizations and companies. While, unlike in the North American and European markets games like Fortnite and Counter-Strike: GO had little impact in India, PUBG Mobile was a breath of fresh air in the Indian community due to its accessibility. Following the launch of PUBG Mobile, mobile game downloads increased tenfold and the active mobile gaming population has surpassed the 200 million mark and is projected to reach more than 450 million by 2021. Ironically, the rise of PUBG Mobile has inadvertently provided an avenue of re-entry for other games like Fortnite, League of Legends, Call of Duty and DotA 2 into the Indian gaming community, as the desire for multiplayer gaming has been given new life since PUBG Mobile’s arrival.
Population benefiting the tournament and game spectatorship:
1 in every 4+ people play PUBG Mobile in India, and its effects are clearly visible in terms of spectatorship for competitive tournaments. The PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO) and PUBG Mobile India Series (PMIS) have a steady 60–80k concurrent viewership (almost 4–5 million views per match). Indian players like Scout and Mortal have 60–70k views on their streams, similar to what Ninja has — and he’s a world-renowned streamer! These figures suggest that PUBG Mobile in India is truly entering a league of its own!
A new wave of personalities:
Given how the esports ecosystem works, high spectatorship numbers have led to increased streaming. It was Mortal who kick started the idea of streaming PUBG Mobile on YouTube, and since then every other professional PUBG players followed a similar path. Famous YouTube personalities such as CarryMinati have also used streaming PUBG Mobile as an innovative way to attract new audiences and curate a different genre of content. His famous epic “roasting”, coupled with in-game commentary have become fan favourites.
Just before PUBG Mobile was launched, there weren’t any noteworthy Indian streamers, especially when regarding esports. Now, not only are the pros gaining popularity and cashing in, but the rise in both streaming and PUBG Mobile has also opened the door for more female competitors and personalities to enter the scene, something that we all hope continues in the future. One personality of note is Shagufta Iqbal (gamertag: Xyaa). She started playing PC games at the age of 12 but has only recently been recognised an as an avid gamer and streamer. Without sounding too cynical, it wouldn’t surprise me if India experienced a spike in streamers and PUBG Mobile professionals, and a decline in doctors and engineers!
An untapped market:
While PUBG Mobile was a roaring success in India, there are still some mountains the Indian esports market has to climb. Specifically, India needs to work out how monetize this growth in gaming, as well as the influx of new and existing users. In-game purchases, such Royal Passes, have attracted little interest, leaving Google ads and subscriptions as the only consistent sources of reliable income. These certainly aren’t enough given the volume of users PUBG Mobile has generated. Therefore, to allow the seed that is India’s gaming industry to blossom, a new strategy to tap into the market to generate revenue is required.
The road ahead:
Despite this, however, there are many teams and organizations willing to invest in India’s gaming community to find the next Mortal or Scout. India is filled with young, passionate and talented gamers. TSM’s collaboration with Entity is one example, whilst Team Liquid are rumored to be signing team Godlike for their PUBG Mobile roster. India’s gaming community has never witnessed anything like this before and they are still craving for more and more — the fuse has most certainly been lit.
In order to sustain itself, PUBG Mobile and its developer have to ensure that they have enough gas in the tank not only to maintain its boom but also adapt to new market conditions in the years to come. The road ahead for PUBG Mobile specifically in India does look very bright given the audience it has gathered and the growing interest in competitive tournaments. PUBG Mobile has had an undeniable rise over the last couple of years, with praise stemming from not only the country’s gaming community but also from some of its most beloved actors and athletes. The challenge now is to see if India’s gaming community specifically can give birth to its first major esports start or, as my fellow PUBG fans would say, it’s first winner-winner-chicken-dinner.
