The year 2020 has been completely under the shackles of Covid-19 in every sense. The pandemic has created a world of ‘quarantines’ where people are just finding different ways to kill their time. From listening to music, binge-watching, to playing games, people have been doing everything to pass their days. Since people are mostly glued to their smartphones, a majority of the Indian population played games during the lockdown. Hence, gaming startups reported exponential growth in overall user engagement. In addition to gaming, many individuals even tried their luck in online gambling and won big amid Covid-19.
India: An emerging market in the gaming world
While Covid-19 brought many industries to a stand-still, the gaming and online gambling in India is booming. In fact, India is gradually emerging as one of the top gaming markets in the world. The gaming culture is so vast and huge that it has created a plethora of new job roles for the people in the country. The gaming industry in India has recorded a 25-30% hike in hiring during the pandemic.
Jobs in the online gaming industry in India
A lot of games have grown in popularity during the pandemic phase, and many new games are being developed every now and then. Hence, the demand for professionals in the gaming industry is on a surge. Different professionals have been employed in the industry. These include concept designers, 3D artists, game developers, project managers, multi-media designers, programmers, animators, language translators, scriptwriters, language interpreters, product analysts, concept designers, UI/UX developers as well as testers, and audio engineers.
If we look at the statistics of gaming-based job openings in India post the COVID-19 outbreak, then it is estimated to grow by 41% every year, according to Maple Capital Advisors. The Google-KPMG reports that the Indian online gaming market will increase to $1 billion by 2021. Therefore, candidates who are pursuing a career in the online gaming industry in India can expect a great future ahead.
Online gambling is also emerging as a popular industry
The laws about offline gambling in India are also very stringent. Offline gambling is not legal in the entire country. There are only a few states where it is legal and regulated by the state’s government. So, gamblers have to visit these facilities to gamble. However, online gambling does not fall under the purview of India’s gambling laws. In fact, no law prohibits online gambling in India. That is why many global bookmakers and online gambling players offer their services in India. The Indians have shown great response and participated in casinos and sports betting over the past few years. As a result, the betting market in India is estimated to be worth 130 billion USD. The industry is growing steadily and it is even creating a job for the professionals.
The future of online gaming is bright
Moreover, the Ministry of Education, India is also working to support young gamers by providing them with massive job opportunities in the field of online games. The ministry is planning to organize a hackathon at the national level on online games. The main aim is to generate some employment opportunities for Indian students who are embedded with hidden talents. Therefore, whether it is hardware sales, live streaming of the games, or the subscriptions to the games, the gaming industry in India has been witnessing exponential growth in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Career Opportunities in the gaming industry in India
Here are some of the highlights of jobs in the gaming industry in the present scenario:
- A popular online gaming company, WinZoGames is hiring aggregately with the primary aim to double the pre-existing team. The usage of video and audio while playing the games of WinZo has doubled. Moreover, the multiplayer mode of the application has increased by 35% and there has been a substantial increase in the users from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi. All such things have led to a significant rise in job openings in this company.
- Rockstar Games, a US-based company, is also expanding its team in several countries. It has also posted several invitations for various posts such as gameplay programmers, face editors, and animation content developers.
- Ubisoft, a French gaming company that is planning to remake the classic AAA game, Prince of Persia. Therefore, there is no doubt that the company will scale up and hire new talent.
- Launched in 2019, Paytm First Games has also witnessed a 200% rise in the user base in March 2020. The platform offers more than 100 popular games such as Teen Patti, Rummy, Ludo, and Fantasy Cricket to name a few. The rise in the users has led to an increase in the demand for various gaming professionals in the company.
These are just a few examples that indicate that the gaming industry is loaded with job opportunities, which has increased exponentially amidst Covid-19. Therefore, considering a career in the industry will be a great idea for the Indian youth.
