Wherever gaming has started to become more popular, men are traditionally the first to jump on board and indulge in gaming. This is true of gaming as well as other technological advances, such as with internet and mobile usage. Gradually, though, the female gamer demographic is becoming larger in India, just as it has in other jurisdictions.
The mobile gaming population is actually dominated by women in areas where mobile devices have become commonplace. Mobile games are much more accessible to people who perhaps haven’t played many games in the past. This has become the primary factor behind the Indian gaming industry potentially climbing to a value of $1.1 billion, with 628 million online gamers, and the average Indian gamer spending 42 minutes per day on mobile games in 2020.
Female players exploring all realms of gaming
Women in India are forming an every-increasing portion of the gaming audience, and while male-centric games like PUBG Mobile earn the headlines, it’s popular games for women which make up a lot of the mobile games chart. Colorful puzzlers like Swing, Candy Crush Saga, and Candy Crush Soda Saga, as well as slot-oriented simulation game Coin Master, continue to be among the most-played free mobile games in India.
These games offer quick doses of fun through easy-to-grasp controls, making them very accessible and enjoyable to anyone with a mobile. Puzzlers are the dominant force, but simulation games like Coin Master have also shared time at the top of the download charts in India.
Filled with hundreds of games as well as a bonus of ₹30,000 with 20 free spins, the online casino in India has also become a major attraction for mobile gamers. Most people who seek out the gaming platform try out several different games, but that hasn’t stopped a handful of titles from soaring up the rankings to place as the most popular titles. The classic game of roulette in its live casino form, Roulette Lobby, remains a hot favorite, but the simple yet exciting gameplay of the slots continues to attract new players. Games like Reel Rush, Super Lion, Moon Princess, and Gemix have all become very popular with women at the online casino.
Of course, there are also women who are already breaking into the male-dominated genres of gaming, such as the big-name MOBA games. Zerah Gonsalves, known by many as the Lara Croft of Indian gaming, started her career as a player on DOTA 2, while Shagufta Iqbal has broken into the PUBG and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene.
Future of gaming in India for women
40 percent of Indian women were aware of the mobile internet as of 2019 – increasing by 21 percent from the year prior. As more tech becomes readily available to the masses, even more female gamers look set to break into competitive gaming via PCs and consoles.
With the exception of the odd handheld console, gaming has never really been able to establish a foothold in India until recently. Access to the technology required to play games has been the primary hindrance, so India is a relatively untested ground for game companies.
However, given the strong audience across different genres already displayed, it stands to reason that more companies will be looking to explore the market and introduce female-centric mobile titles inspired by popular games in the West, such as Child of Light, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice or Horizon: Zero Dawn.
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