Indian digital gaming industry to more than double to USD 7.5 bn by FY28: Lumikai

New Delhi: Indian digital gaming industry is likely to more than double to USD 7.5 billion by FY28, mainly on the back of growth in in-app purchases, ad revenues and user base, a report by gaming venture capital firm Lumikai said on Thursday.

The Indian gaming industry clocked USD 3.1 billion in revenue in the financial year (FY) 2023, according to the annual State of India Gaming report released by Lumikari in collaboration with Google.

"India's gaming market hit USD 3.1 billion in FY23 and is projected to reach USD 7.5 billion by FY28. Future growth is expected to be driven by growth in in-app purchases and ad revenues in casual and mid-core games," the report said.

The real money gaming (RMG) revenue grew by USD 500 million in FY23 but is expected to face headwinds in the coming years due to recent taxation policies and industry consolidation, the report said.

Lumikai said it used third-party data, secondary research, its proprietary data, primary survey and expert interviews for compiling the report.

It has said over 2,000 users across India were surveyed to get insights into gamers' behaviour.

According to the report, India was home to 568 million gamers in FY23, of which 25 per cent were paying users.

Lumikai gaming report claims that over 50 per cent of all Indian internet users account for the gaming population in the country.

"The number of gamers in India grew by 12 per cent compared to last year, while the number of paying users grew by 17 per cent. With 15.4 billion game downloads, India retained its spot as a key leader in global game downloads," the report said.

The report found that 59 per cent of gamers in the country are male and 41 per cent female, with 66 per cent coming from non-metros.

"Even though funding has slowed down this year, the outlook towards the gaming industry is extremely positive. We are particularly excited to see the increasing engagement of gamers from non-metro cities, which demonstrates the massive growth potential and the opportunity in the Indian gaming industry," Lumikai General Partner Salone Sehgal said.