Online gaming, a new industry that has begun to grow at an exponential rate in Indian markets, has captured the attention of millions of minds to make a career out of it. The new and upcoming industries have their fair share of struggles: financial instabilities, market values, and most importantly, acceptance by parents and society. Most parents are not willing to approve of gaming, or rather esports, as a healthy activity for their children, as they only see games as an activity to kill time and get distracted from studies or their day-to-day activities. They usually end up saying that this is not a safe field and that only a few people have achieved things like that. In the end, they deny the fact that there are many career opportunities in this field.
Gaming was casual and for fun until 2018, when only CS: GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) and a few other PC games had tournaments with very small prize pools compared to what it is now. Streaming was extremely rare, and only a few games had a huge fan base, like Minecraft, CS: GO, etc. But then Player Unknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG), or as we know it today, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), was launched. It brought about some crazy changes in the gaming community. As more organisations came into India to sign players on a contractual basis, the market value and funding increased by a huge leap, and brand endorsements increased too. It was the first major step toward improving the conditions of the Indian Gaming Community (IGC).
In 2018, Krafton and Tencent Games held the first major PUBG: Mobile worldwide tournament known as the PUBG Mobile Star Challenge in Dubai, with a whopping prize pool of $600,000. Since then, the PUBG Corporation has held various tournaments at the world level as well as for specific regions. In 2019, the PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO) Fall Split was held, where a total of 5 teams qualified from India for the prelims, and 2 went on to the finals to represent India. This was the point at which e-sports drew a large audience and a lot of attention in Indian society. The next big tournament for India was the PUBG Mobile World League 2020, where a total of 7 teams were representing India, out of which Orange Rock Esports secured 2nd place. During the second half
of 2020, on September 2, heart-throbbing news came for the IGC when the government announced the ban of a total of 118 Chinese apps, including PUBG: Mobile, which was a major setback for esports in India,
as PUBG: Mobile had the largest consumer base in India and a lot of organisations took their contracts and left the Indian community.
Meanwhile, a new game on PC, called Valorant, developed by Riot Games, became insanely popular, and every YouTuber was streaming it. It had a shaky release, but soon the game was on top of the charts and the company announced its esports scenario with the Valiant Champions Tour, with a massive prize pool of $1000000. This boosted the esports scene even more and opened opportunities for more people to get into gaming. More brands and organisations aiming to achieve the world stage platform to show their skills have started signing up more players and working towards their goals.
Furthermore, over the last 2-3 years, esports has gained widespread popularity, leading to their inclusion in the Asian Games 2022. This was great news for gamers all over Asia, as they get to showcase their talents on a platform that is recognised by the whole world, including people who don’t know anything about gaming and esports. This gesture indicates that esports and gaming will continue to grow and eventually be accepted as a profession by all, rather than thinking of it just as a time pass or a waste of time. Parents and adults, especially in India, need to realise that there are numerous opportunities and career options in esports as well. This is not just limited to playing games on your phone or computer. Many people are working in the shadows continuously to make esports a better community, increase opportunities for the young and, at the same time, not promote any wrong impressions or rumours to the people who are willing or trying to get into this field of work.
Streamers and professional esports athletes are always willing to guide people who come to seek help from them, as they are experienced in this field and have achieved many great things too. Some people take the advice in the wrong way, which harms the scene as parents then use it as an example to not allow their children to participate in such activities. Individuals who are in the age group of 15-20 can perform very well, but they also need to understand that until and unless gamers get a salary from organisations or sponsorship from brands and have financial stability, parents will be reluctant to approve as it is a new industry and hugely related to technology, which is also kind of new to them. This is also true because they do not know much about computers and the latest technology, which are a major factor in esports. Also, esports as a whole is a new concept, and since they do not know anyone personally who has achieved great heights, they despise it and tell children not to indulge in it.
The government should take an initiative to promote as well as encourage people to take part, considering the growth, investments, results, etc. The government should also consider the negative aspects of gaming, such as addiction, the impact on mental health due to increased screen time, vision deterioration, and other factors. All in all, my personal opinion on the current esports scenario in the country is very stable, with a lot more opportunities economically as well as for more people. It would not be wrong to say that esports has a promising future to grow.
