Breaking the stereotype of online gaming being a male bastion, a pan-India survey has revealed that 41 % of the gamers are women. The Lumikai Gaming Report said that a survey was conducted with 2,317 respondents across different demographics to gain insight into gamer and non-gamer motivations, behaviours, preferences, and monetisation potential.
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The statistics were revealed during the 15th edition of the three-day India Game Developer Conference which began in Hyderabad on Thursday. The report also said that 50% of gamers in the country fall within the age bracket of 18-30 years, with a male to female ratio of roughly 60:40.
The conference on November 2 saw more than 4,000 attendees, with over 200 speakers and 125 hyperactive sessions at the South Asia’s biggest and most significant developer conference. There were also special sessions by conference partners, including Unreal Developer Day, Xbox Discovery Day, Unity Dev and Google Dev.
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Chairman of India Game Developer Conference (IGDC), Rajesh Rao said that the gaming industry is now seeing a rapid growth, especially the Indian market which is becoming one of the largest such in the world. “The Lumikai Report also points out that a fascinating dimension to this gaming boom is the substantial participation of women, constituting 41% of the total gaming community. Surprisingly, 66% of the gamers hail from non-metro regions, underscoring the democratisation of gaming experiences across the country,” he said.
“This edition of the IGDC has attracted participation from over 125+ top gaming firms, all at the cutting edge of the industry’s growth. Gaming startups have now matured to invest heavily in brand building, and big names are now endorsing their apps. YouTube channels linked to game reviews and tutorials are getting record views,” he adds.
Sharing his thoughts on their association with IGDC, Nitish Mittersain, joint MD and CEO of Nazara Technologies, said that he has seen IGDC grow alongside the Indian gaming ecosystem. “This is a particularly significant year for Nazara at IGDC as we launch our publishing division and invite Indian developers to pitch their games to us. Come, show us your game, and we could commit ₹1 crore or more to help grow your game across India and the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Build Your Own Game (BYOG) game jam saw game developers building a game within a limited timeframe, based on a set of themes. Launched in 2010, BYOG is India’s oldest annual game jam, churning out champion game developers year after year. Past winners have used this as a springboard to win multiple global awards, launch their own game development firms and build riveting games
The IGDC this year has nine parallel sessions, solo talks, workshops and round tables. These dive deep into AI, Web3, art and design, technology, production, business & product management, applied games covering games for good, emerging trends and career opportunities.