Krafton recently concluded its esports tournament, Battlegrounds India Mobile Series (BGIS) 2025, in Kolkata. Held between April 25 and April 27, the tournament boasted a prize pool of INR 3.2 Cr. Meanwhile, Riot Games — the creator of League of Legends (a multiplayer online battle arena video game) and VALORANT (a first-person tactical shooting video game) — is gearing up for its first-ever tournament in India, Legends Ascend South Asia, to be held from June 13 to August 3, 2025.

Now, some may ask — Why are global gaming giants forming a beeline for India? Honestly, why not?

Driven by a young, mobile-first population, India is one of the largest gaming communities globally, with over 450 Mn gamers. Besides, gaming behemoths see a gold mine in India due to factors like improving internet infrastructure and a growing appetite for competitive games.

But this is not it.

The rapid growth of the esports industry in the country, too, cannot be ignored. India’s gaming market is at an inflexion point, and esports is on its agenda.

The country is set to make its debut in esports at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), scheduled to be held in Bihar from 4 to 15 May. India is also eager to participate in the Olympic Esports Games to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2027.

According to a report by IMARC, the Indian esports market size reached $200.7 Mn in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach $919.0 Mn by 2033.

However, there is something even more interesting that is happening in India. Homegrown players are witnessing a 2X revenue growth every year.

Take Nodwin, for example — having grown its revenues 25X in six years, the country’s largest esports company now contributes 37% to listed gaming firm Nazara’s total revenue. For context: Nodwin’s revenue surged from a modest INR 18 Cr in FY18 to INR 427 Cr in FY24.

No surprise that Reliance wants a slice of this market. RISE Worldwide, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and BLAST Esports Ltd, one of the largest global players in the segment, have announced the formation of a joint venture to tap into India’s red-hot esports market. However, unlike Reliance’s earlier gaming efforts under Jio, RISE is taking the lead to change its luck in this segment once and for all.

Reliance’s Many Gaming........

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