With the proper regulatory environment, investment environment, and innovation ecosystem, India can generate more than 2 million high skilled gaming employment opportunities and release $26 billion of investor value in the form of IPOs over the next three years. India's gaming industry can grow to a staggering market size of $60 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.6% from FY24 to FY29. This expansion could take India's contribution to the global gaming economy from 1.1% to 20% in ten years. To realize this potential, however, regulatory clarity and favorable taxation policies are needed, a recent report said.

Currently valued at approximately $3.7 billion in 2024, India's gaming industry is projected to exceed $9.1 billion by 2029. The "India Gaming Report 2025," a study conducted by gaming company WinZO and the Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council (IEIC), emphasizes that regulatory clarity and supportive taxation will be crucial for the sector's next phase of growth. "With the appropriate regulatory environment, Indian gaming firms could realize unprecedented returns to investors through access to public markets and foreign direct investment (FDI) in other sectors in India.
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The report states that, according to valuation multiples of the listed company Nazara Tech, the gaming industry can reach a market capitalization/revenue multiple that unlocks investor value worth $26 billion through the IPOs of mature gaming firms in three years. "Nazara enjoys one of the highest premiums among globally listed gaming firms, reflecting the market's faith in India's gaming potential."

Paavan Nanda, WinZO's Co-founder, said during the launch event and concurrent WAVES 2025 in Mumbai that the Indian gaming industry has a singular strength in the borderless digital economy. "Given proper support, Indian gaming businesses have the potential to dominate intellectual property creation globally within a decade and place India at the pinnacle of the $300 billion gaming economy. Founded firmly, the industry has the potential to unleash investor value worth $25-30 billion in the public markets in the next 2-3 years and solidify India's position as the leader in the digital entertainment revolution."

India's gaming industry has displayed great promise, with 1,888 gaming firms employing more than 130,000 individuals and a user base of 600 million that is projected to increase by a huge amount by 2029. "The India Gaming Report 2025 shows India's shift from being a consumer to emerging as a global producer and exporter of intellectual property for games. With a thriving local market and international ambitions, India is poised to lead the next generation of digital entertainment," Nanda said.

The report adds that more than 90% of the $3 billion of FDI lured by India's gaming industry till date has been channeled towards the pay-to-play (real money gaming) segment. "Pay-to-play is an Indian innovation a micro transaction-based monetization model that has been established on the success of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and has been instrumental in making the gaming industry financially sustainable." It also identifies that conventional monetization models, like in-app purchases and ads, have had limited scalability in the Indian market in relation to the scale of consumption of gaming content.

Today, gaming represents 29.6% of the new media pie in India valued at $12.5 billion, ahead of OTT, audio, animation, and social media. As a global sector, the $300 billion video game industry is already larger than the combined box office and music industry revenues worldwide.

The report cites instances of nations such as Finland, Israel, and Turkey, with small populations, which account for more than 90% of gaming revenues from exports. "India, with its huge domestic market and rising global competitiveness, is at a special inflection point providing the opportunity to develop a dual engine of domestic consumption and international exports, integrating Indian gaming intellectual property into the global digital economy."

While releasing the report, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in his foreword said that India is on the cusp of leading the next wave of digital innovation and that gaming would have a key role to play in achieving India's vision of a $1 trillion digital economy.