Mumbai: STAN, a Series A-funded social gaming community platform backed by Google’s AI Fund, Sony Innovation Fund, General Catalyst and Nazara Technologies, has released new internal platform insights indicating that users from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are outperforming metro users across key monetisation and retention metrics.
According to the company’s aggregated platform-wide analysis of millions of user interactions and monetised engagement events recorded during 2026, Bharat users accounted for nearly 67% of the platform’s total user base while contributing approximately 72% of total monetised engagement.
The data further revealed that users from Bharat generated around 17–18% higher average revenue per user (ARPU) compared to users from Tier-1 metro cities during the year. Unlike metro spending behaviour, which the company said is often driven by occasional high-value purchases, users from smaller cities demonstrated more consistent engagement through creator support during live gamerooms, in-app purchases, exclusive club participation and recurring interactions within creator-led gaming communities.
STAN noted that users from cities including Patna, Indore, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Guwahati, Lucknow and Jamshedpur showed more sustained spending behaviour compared to users from metro centres such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
The platform also highlighted the growing creator economy within its ecosystem, revealing that more than 300,000 creators are currently earning a sustainable monthly income on STAN. Internal platform trends further indicated that several top creators from Tier-2 cities are generating higher earnings within their first year on the platform than many corporate freshers typically earn over five years.
In terms of user retention, the company observed materially stronger long-term retention among Bharat cohorts, with overall user growth from Bharat markets also surpassing metro users by nearly 10%.
“What stood out to us was not just scale, but the consistency of monetisation and engagement behaviour across Bharat markets,” said Parth Chadha, Co-Founder and CEO, STAN. “For years, India’s internet economy has largely viewed Bharat as a user acquisition market and metros as the primary revenue centres. Our data increasingly suggests that this assumption is evolving.”
STAN attributed the trend to increasing digital payment adoption across non-metro India, rising creator-led engagement, and the emergence of platforms built specifically for Bharat-first internet audiences.
“Users today are willing to spend consistently on platforms where they feel recognised, included, and part of a trusted community,” the spokesperson added. “The opportunity in Bharat is no longer just about internet penetration or scale. It is increasingly becoming one of the strongest monetisation opportunities across India’s consumer internet ecosystem.”
The findings come as consumer internet companies and investors increasingly shift focus beyond metro markets to tap into the next phase of India’s digital growth story. Going forward, STAN said it plans to continue investing in creator tools, regional community experiences and engagement-driven features as it expands its footprint across India’s gaming ecosystem.
