How 5G Will Transform Mobile Gaming In India

Industry leaders met at the second India Gaming Conclave 2022 (IGC) to discuss the factors that have powered the country's gaming revolution and what lies in store.

Industry leaders met at the second India Gaming Conclave 2022 (IGC) to discuss the factors that have fueled the gaming revolution in India and what lies ahead. With over 420 million active gamers and technical advancements like 5G and cloud gaming on the way, India is now the global hub of the online gaming industry. This country is also positioned to change the gaming ecosystem.

 

Mobile Gaming Will Dominate India Post 5G

At the IGC 2022's inaugural meeting, co-founder of XR Central Shrey Mishra declared, "We have all the proper ingredients."    "I believe that we are fortunate to be a part of the Indian ecosystem, which truly encourages innovation. We operate in a very distinct market. In contrast to the US, where individuals had time to switch from Pong to Atari to PCs, we don't have that luxury. We immediately turned to our mobile phones. And during the past five years, that is what we have observed.

With the shift from 3G to 4G, the revolution of mobile phones with accessible internet connectivity, and the increase in popularity of games like Valorant, PUBG Mobile, and Free Fire, to name a few, the online gaming market in India has seen significant growth over the past five years. With 5G services due to go operational soon in India, the Indian games industry is waiting with bated breath for it to drive the next-generation technologies like cloud gaming, XR experiences, and more.

Nitin Goel, Country Manager of Gameloft, had a different perspective, saying, "It's not that gaming is a recent phenomenon, it's been around for years for us, it's just that the enablers were not there for us to have a tremendous reach of the game at that point in time. And we have that option readily available to us now. We are now much more enthusiastic about the available gaming alternatives.

Even while the Indian gaming sector has the potential to grow into a multibillion-dollar sector, there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome. The Indian government does not have a regulatory framework for businesses to adhere to, which is something that the whole esports industry is advocating because it is often compared to fantasy and casino sports. The difficulty with 5G is utilizing technology in a way that promotes gaming culture and goes beyond just better speeds. According to Damyant Singh Khanoria, CMO of Oppo India, "from the game industry's and merely a consumer's side, I think the utility of 5G still has to find its silver bullet in terms of hardware."

We have literally thousands of patents on items that we believe will enable customers fully utilize 5G. But I don't believe the screen we hold in our hands is the solution, and I believe what we need are things that help unlock the 5G experience in a more immersive way," he said.

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