The developer of the battle royale game BGMI, Krafton India, requested government assistance to advance the Indian online gaming market.
Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India, highlighted labour cost subsidies offered to gaming firms by nations including the UAE and Canada during a speech on Thursday (August 24).
Sohn continued by saying that strategies may be developed to advance the sector nationally.
He said, “Data shows actually how governments around the world regard gaming business as one of the future growth drivers for job creation…we all know that India needs more tax revenue to develop the country, but at the same time, I hope that the Indian government can find creative ways to promote the industry.”
A 28% tax has been imposed by the GST Council on the whole face value of bets made on online games. The tax will go into effect on October 1 and will be reviewed six months after that.
Indian Gaming & Esports
According to Sohn, the ‘unique advantage’ Indian gamers have is that they are mobile-native, as opposed to their Western counterparts who switched from consoles, personal computers, and arcade gaming to smartphones.
This will increase the reach of gaming in India and open opportunities for gaming companies.
“Indian gamers are now at 500 Mn with true gamers in the range of 100 Mn which is not as big as China or South Korea, but given the very inexpensive cost of mobile internet and wide penetration of smartphones, I think the number of gamers will increase very fast and… open up more opportunities for gaming companies like us,” he said.
According to the CEO of Krafton India, the Indian market is substantial for popular games like BGMI and “heavily skewed” towards top players, but that more players will emerge as the gaming industry diversifies and develops.
Sohn also discussed the business’ investment in Nodwin Gaming, which has its headquarters in Gurugram, noting that “90% of Nodwin’s revenue is coming from mobile esports gaming events.”
When it came to the entertainment business, he said that the gaming sector had expanded to account for “about 80% of the movie and video game industry combined.”
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