Growing gamers base fuels demand for gaming professionals amid layoff

India has the second largest gamer base in the world with nearly 430 million gamers, of which more than 90 per cent are mobile or casual gamers. Speaking about the top 10 Asian countries' list, our country makes up 50.2 per cent of all gamers. In terms of revenue, India is the fastest growing market with a five-year growth rate of 21 per cent. According to industry reports, online gaming market in India was estimated to be at around Rs 15,500 crore at the end of FY22. The pandemic has led entertainment consumers to opt for playing casual games as another source of engagement. The recent spike in casual gaming has been possible because of games easily available online, without having the need to download each gaming app. One such casual gaming platform is Gurgaon-based Gamezop, founded in 2016 by Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 lister Gaurav Agarwal along with his younger brother, Yashash Agarwal. Enlisted on Forbes Asia 100 to Watch in 2021, Gamezop, is a plug-and-play gaming platform that any non-gaming app or website can use to add a gaming section for their users. Thus, the consumer does not have to download each game separately, but will get a host of games, while engaging with another platform such as Amazon or Paytm. Startups such as Gamezop are contributing towards an increasing gamer base which is likely to reach 650 million by FY25. In conversation with Bizz Buzz, co-founder of Gamezop, Gaurav Agarwal mentions how pandemic period during the last two years has accelerated the conversion of non-gamers to casual gamers, in turn, leading to rise in the demand for gaming talent. Based on this growth, the Indian online gaming industry's market size is expected to surge to Rs 29,000 crore with casual gamers contributing Rs 16,900 crore by FY25

Could you provide details about Gamezop's current status?

Gamezop is a multi-game platform that apps can integrate to add a gaming section for their users. Gamezop also operates Quizzop, a quizzing platform that apps can add as a trivia section. Games and quizzes increase user engagement significantly within any product, besides opening a new stream of revenue. Gamezop and Quizzop take 30 minutes to integrate and can be used for free - both for the apps integrating them and the users of such apps. Over 5,000 products from more than 70 countries have partnered with Gamezop; these partners include Amazon, MX Player, Paytm, Samsung Internet, Tata Play, and Airtel Thanks. More than 45 million users from over 200 countries engage with Gamezop every month via one of their partners. In 2020, Gamezop raised Series A funding of Rs 32 crore from Bitkraft Ventures, Velo Partners, and FJ Labs, the world's largest gaming fund. We have a team size of nearly100 employees.

Any plan of adding new vertical after Quizzop…

One of our expansionary moves was Quizzop. What Gamezop is for games, Quizzop is for quizzes. As we already had a vast distribution network via our partner apps, Quizzop could leverage that and grow very rapidly. We plan to foray into more content verticals in due course of time. Given that we operate in popular content categories like games and quizzes, we are able to cut across age, gender, and location.

How do you rope in casual games on your platform from game developers?

Gamezop has a very thorough process of evaluating the games that are eventually chosen for our catalogue. For every 40 games we screen, only one makes it through to the catalogue. There are twelve different metrics across which each game is screened; these include - genre, art style, game depth, performance optimisation, and so on. We engage with HTML5 game developers at several levels. Leading HTML5 game developers reach out to us with new titles, and we license those exclusively or non-exclusively. Recently, we have also started working with developers on a revenue-sharing basis.

How has developing games as a field of employment evolved over the period?

Given the massive surge in consumption of games in India, the demand for gaming talent has risen as well. This is both from Indian gaming companies as well as foreign firms hiring Indian talent. We expect that the gaming industry will continue to hire in large numbers, remaining largely insulated from market conditions. In spite of the job market going through a tough phase with multiple layoffs making headlines, working professionals in the gaming industry are probably better placed. At Gamezop, we are hiring across key roles, including HTML5 game developers, game designers, artists, gaming alliances, and gaming ad sales.

How does gaming as an industry position itself in India?

Globally, gaming is already larger than movies and music industries put together. As per estimates, last year, gaming generated $200 billion from three billion gamers worldwide. In India, gaming in 2021 brought in $1.8 billion from 400 million players. This is further anticipated to increase to $5 billion and 650 million players by 2025.

Speaking about technology, how are Indian game developers equipped in the global scenario, for the casual as well as professional gaming segment?

I do not think we are lagging behind in adoption of any particular technology. Western studios have for long outsourced a lot of art and animation to services companies in India. So honestly, a lot of good work is happening in India. I think there are two areas where Indian studios could look to do even better. First, game design. Gaming enthusiasts would know that game designers ideate and conceptualise games. Think of them as architects who plan everything about the game: the characters, storyline and progression, rules and mechanics, and economy. They visualise the whole world within the game and articulate their vision to the others on the team. Secondly, game marketing. This is because for a game to become popular, reaching a critical mass quickly is important. Marketing does involve spending to acquire users but that is probably just the start. Leveraging smart channels to distribute new games is something that leading global studios do very well.

Has there been a shift in acceptance of gamers and gaming professionals in our society?

Like any popular form of content, gaming cuts across the barriers of age, gender, and location. To an extent, time spent at home during the last two years has accelerated the conversion of non-gamers to casual gamers. I would be lying if I said there is complete acceptance of gaming as a career in Indian households; especially those in smaller towns. Notions cannot change overnight but the role of prominent media houses to dispel the taboo around gaming is noteworthy.

At present, content on social media trends faster than casual games, your take…

Content types available on social media go viral via social media posts because they are instantly playable. When you click on such a post, it opens instantly within the social media app you are exploring. Imagine if each post was required to be downloaded as an app first - would they circulate at the pace they do? Absolutely not. Today, each smartphone game is required to be downloaded as an app first, which is very frictional. Gamezop is looking to change that by making popular games playable with a single tap, just like one of these social media posts. Similarly, with Quizzop we are bringing various popular quizzing categories to a single destination.