Digital entertainment firm Hungama, along with Hindustan Talkies, a movie and digital content production house, has made a strategic investment of $500,000 in esports platform Indian Gaming League (IGL), which was launched in 2016. IGL said it will utilize the funds to acquire new users and develop new features to increase engagement on the platform.
“We are excited to invest in Indian Gaming League to help the platform grow further and offer gamers in the country a unique competitive experience at a scale that hasn’t been seen before. At Hungama, our plan is to engage with over 10 million gamers in the next two years with our esports initiatives,” said Neeraj Roy, founder and chief executive officers, Hungama Digital Media.
The funding will also be used to launch Indian Gaming League Championship Cup Season 1, a 45-day tournament that will allow users to compete in six games and win prizes. The tournament will culminate with Indian Gaming League Awards to recognize the winners of the championship.
“Today, the gaming industry is growing faster than the rest of the entertainment industry and shows no signs of slowing down. Additionally, India has the largest youth population in the world and with its evolving broadband infrastructure and affordability, we expect esports to soar further and create more uproar. For Hindustan Talkies, its association with e-sports allows it to foray into yet another exciting form of entertainment,” said Ashish Chowdhry, director, Hindustan Talkies.
Indian Gaming League claims that it has grown its user base by over 3X in the last 12 months and has hosted over 3,000 gaming tournaments in 2020.
“Esports is still at a nascent stage in India. Having Hungama and Hindustan Talkies coming on board will help us reach a larger audience and scale esports to new heights. We’re excited to have their expertise and mentorship to guide us in the right direction and achieving our vision of making esports a household name,” said Yash Pariani, CEO, Indian Gaming League.
The online gaming industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40% to $2.8 billion by 2022, up from $1.1 billion in 2019, according to a Deloitte India report.
To be sure, Indian gaming platforms have attracted more than $450 million in the last six years. Some recent investments include those in Mobile Premier League, which raised $90 million in 2020 from Pegasus Tech Ventures and others, JetSynthesys (raised $40 million from DSG, Jetline, and Triveni Engineering & Industries) and Reliance Jio, which invested in mobile gaming startup Krikey, among others.
Mint reported that multiple corporates have also entered the booming esports market of India.
Tech Mahindra, for instance, said that it will organize a global chess league. Jio launched its first mobile esports tournament around the Garena Free Fire game. Telecom player Airtel has partnered with esports company NODWIN Gaming to create first national ranking and awarding system which would grade all esports players in the country.
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