MUMBAI: Gen Z Gamers, working professionals and women 35+ are driving India’s Gaming Boom. Kreo an Indian consumer electronics brand dedicated to empowering content creators and gamers with gear, has released a nationwide, landmark study titled “How India Games”.
Gaming in India has outgrown its stereotypes. Data shows that 35% of Indian gamers are creators, coders, and entrepreneurs.
Kreo’s survey of nearly 6,000 gamers reveals explosive growth, rising female participation, and a harsh reality for many online
The report reveals that more than 35% of Indian gamers today are working professionals across demographic, including engineers, creators, marketers, and entrepreneurs. Women over 35 are emerging as one of the fastest-growing gaming segments, and over half of India’s gamers say they want to build careers in content creation or esports.
The report is a result of a first-of-its-kind deep dive into the identities, habits, and aspirations of nearly 5,900+ Indian gamers, and arrives at a moment of major industry momentum. According to a recent report by WinZO Games and IEIC, India’s online gaming sector is expected to more than double to $9.1 billion by 2029, with the country already home to nearly 20% of the global gamer base.
Key findings:
– More than 35% of gamers are entrepreneurs, techies, and creators, dispelling the old myth that gaming is just for students.
– The nation’s gaming population is racing forward with an annual growth pegged at 16%.
– The gender tide is slowly turning, and women are changing the face of Indian gaming.
– While men (94%) have historically dominated the gaming scene, women are rapidly catching up after age 35.
– 73% of female gamers admit to hiding their gender online, driven by experiences of harassment, yet they are still joining, creating, and leading new communities.
Gaming is fuelling dreams: Nearly one in five have participated in esports competitions, which represents a powerful, untapped potential for participation and content creation, surging across all age groups.
53% of gamers are actively interested in creating their own content, many already stream, code, and collaborate as part of a burgeoning creator economy.
Despite the rise of console and PC-only gamers, “mobile gaming” remains the most popular entry point, with a massive 88% of gamers dabbling on smartphones, often alongside other devices.
Interestingly, most Indian parents still see gaming as a “waste of time”, yet nearly one in ten parents have joined a game with their children, hinting at a slow but sure generational shift.
“Gaming was an escape for me when I was young. Evaluating the results of this report, it seems an even more prevalent option to solve loneliness in India. Today, gaming is an even more defining part of how 300 million+ Indians connect, create, and express themselves. With How India Games, we wanted to go beyond numbers to understand what gaming really means to people, how its solving cultural issues, including depression,” said Ishan Sukul, Co-founder and CEO, Kreo
India the company added is home to one of the largest gaming populations in the world. As gaming grows from a pastime into a parallel economy and cultural force, reports like ‘How India Games’ become critical in understanding both how we play and who we are becoming.
