
Gaming is rapidly growing in India, and the Government of India is actively supporting theindustry's development. Recently, in the Union Budget 2025 session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared his insights on the gaming industry in India and revealed his aim to make India a global hub for gaming development and creativity.
During the Union Budget 2025 session, PM Modi said, "I have told the youth of the country—why shouldn't India become the capital of gaming creation and creativity in the world? And I can see that our people are working very fast towards this goal."
The youth of India are getting into gaming not just as players but also by choosing careers in game development and other related fields. India has developed many games in recent years, and more exciting games are coming soon from Indian developers.
India’s Gaming and Esports Landscape 2025
According to the AFK Gaming survey, 2025 will be a big year for the Indian gaming and esports industry. Check out below some key insights from the survey conducted by AFK Gaming:
Given the option to choose multiple factors, industry stakeholders highlighted new game titles and a growing player base as the primary drivers of esports growth in 2025, with 60% identifying them as key. Next in line are investments (40%), collegiate tournaments (30%), and supportive government policies (30%), which will also act as key enablers.
In 2025, Indian esports and gaming organizations are focusing on new IP development, with 40% of respondents emphasizing this priority, followed by better monetization of existing IPs (30%)
Battle Royale is the top choice for developers and organizations when it comes to most promising mobile genres, with 90% of respondents citing it, while Hyper-casual games are favored by 10%.
60% of survey respondents remain confident in Battlegrounds Mobile India’s (BGMI) continued dominance, while 40% anticipate that contenders may eventually overtake it. In terms of contenders, 70% of respondents believe Free Fire is the most likely to challenge BGMI’s dominance, followed by VALORANT at 20%.
70% of respondents believe that local themes, languages, and culturally resonant content will be key to Indian games' global success in 2025, driving greater player affinity both at home and abroad.
Respondents identified lack of infrastructure and reduced brand spending as the main challenges for Indian esports (30% each), followed by regulatory issues (20%), and low engagement outside metros (10%). No respondents cited a limited talent pool as a concern.