India is quickly shaping up to be one of the largest online gaming market, with mobile gaming alone expected to surge to a whopping $2.4 billion by 2029, according to MIXI's 'state of play' report.
On the whole, the country ranks number two on combined market metrics benchmarked against other emerging gaming markets, with the report highlighting that score progression over the past three years confirms increasing attractiveness and market maturity.
However, there are still some major disparity in the demographics of the online gaming landscape. For instance, PC gaming still remains relatively niche due to high hardware costs.
The report outlined that its penetration rate is only between 1 to 1.4%, with an install base of approximately 15-20 million gaming PC units.
Another more striking imbalance is that even in the 21st century, the mobile gaming industry is dominated by a young male audience. Out of all gamers, 86% are males and females only make up of 14%.
"Core genres like sports, strategy, and shooter show the highest male concentration at around 90%, dominated by the 18-24 demographic," the report stated.
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However, the parity seems to shrink when you shift genres, with women making up 52% of the audience for lifestyle games and 45% for puzzle games. Puzzle games are emerging to be one of the most popular genres of the gaming world, after shooter and strategy.
"Match Swap maintains 71% market share of India's $86M Puzzle category (with a 23.2% six-year CAGR) despite downloads and engagement dropping in 2025," the report relevaled.
Even lifestyle gaming, while not yet among the top categories, is one of the fastest growing genres in terms of revenue; surging 23% year-on-year, all thanks to female gamers.
Additionally, Puzzle and casino genres also lean towards an older audience, with more than half of players aged 35 and above. According to the report, these patterns indicate viable pathways to reach historically underserved segments through genre-specific positioning.
Despite much-needed transformations in the gaming universe, it is important to note that shooter titles like Battle Royale overwhelmingly dominate revenue.
"IAP (In-App Purchase) revenues concentrate heavily in competitive genres like Shooter and Strategy. Shooter games have established themselves as the undisputed revenue leaders, capturing 43% of all IAP revenue in India," as per the report.
From the looks of it change, while consistent, will happen very slowly as the trend is not limited to India alone. This pattern mirrors trends across Southeast Asian markets, where competitive multiplayer experiences drive outsized ARPU.
"As the market matures, female and older player engagement should naturally increase, ultimately reinforcing genre diversity and enabling new categories to flourish," India's state of play emphasises.
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