Women in India spend more time on gaming than men, study shows

The new research surveyed over 2,240 smartphone users across multiple demographics and geographics. 56% of gamers surveyed came from non-metros, while midcore and hardcore categories provide the highest percentage of metros users at 53% and 59% respectively. Of the total surveyed users, 60% of gamers were men and 40% were women.

Its findings show that 98% play games on smartphones, with 23% playing on PCs/laptops and 14% on gaming consoles. Relaxation is the top motivator for gamers with over 50%, followed by making money (13%), killing time (12%), and socializing (11%). 

According to the survey, average time spent per week is highest in mid-core games like BGMI, Clash of Clans at 3.4 hours/week. It is followed by hardcore (DOTA 2, Genshin Impact) and real money games (RMG) with an average 3.3 hours/week spent.

The survey revealed that 48% of non-gamers chose casual games like Ludo King, Candy Crush as their most preferred game category to play in the future, with 35% of gamers acknowledging that they have increased their time spent gaming in the last 12 months. 

What drives paying gamers to make purchases?

The report highlights that 64% of paying gamers make in-app purchases, followed by subscription payments at 57%. 59% of payers have started paying for games in the last 12 months. The trend further shows that 50% of paying gamers are willing to pay for casual games, followed by 48% for mid-core and 39% for hyper-casual and RMG. Though 45% of paying gamers are incentivized by the potential to make money, willingness to pay is also driven by new content/levels (43%) and better in-game items (44%).

Another interesting highlight of the report is that the Indian gaming community prefers Indian-themed video games. 82% of gamers are interested in playing games based on Indian mythology, and even 43% of non-gamers are more inclined to start gaming if games are based on Indian themes like Ramayana.

Highlighting trends in the Indian e-sports industry, the report says that the industry grew to $40 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $140 million by 2027 at a CAGR of 32%. The number of e-sports players in India grew 4x from 0.15 million in 2021 to 0.6 million in 2022, and is expected to grow 2.5x over the next five years to reach 1.5 million by 2027. E-sports revenue at $0.04 billion is a small segment currently but is fast growing at 32% CAGR through to 2027.