The Indian Gaming Market: What International Publishers Need to Know

India is one of the most discussed games markets in the world, and one of the most misread. Download volumes are enormous, revenue per player is modest, and in 2025 a new law changed the shape of the market almost overnight. This guide sets out what an international publisher should understand before committing a title, a team or a budget to India.

Market structure after the 2025 ban

On 22 August 2025, the President assented to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. The Act prohibits offering, facilitating or advertising online money games, along with the financial transactions linked to them. Penalties for offering online money games run up to Rs 1 crore in fines or three years' imprisonment.

The Act is not only restrictive. It recognises e-sports as a legitimate competitive sport and defines online social games as those played for entertainment or skill development without monetary stakes. It also provides for an Authority on Online Gaming that can categorise and register games and platforms.

The commercial effect was significant. Before the ban, real-money gaming (RMG) was a $2.3 billion category. That matters when reading older headline numbers. Lumikai put the Indian game market at $3.8 billion in FY24, forecasting $9.2 billion by 2029, but that figure predates the 2025 ban and included real-money gaming. It is not a useful baseline for a studio making entertainment games.

The more relevant number is the video games market excluding RMG. Lumikai's 2025 report puts it at $1.5 billion in CY25, up 17% year on year, with a forecast of $3.2 billion by CY30 at a 17% CAGR.

The player base also contracted. The gamer base fell from 609 million to 555 million after the ban, a 9% drop. For studios making games played for fun rather than money, the market that remains is smaller in headcount but clearer in its rules.

Hypothesis to validate: With RMG operators out of the market, attention and advertising inventory they previously absorbed may become more available to entertainment games. Test this with your own campaigns before building a plan around it.

Mobile is the market

India is the world's second-largest mobile gaming market by downloads, with 15.2 billion game downloads in FY24. Android accounts for about 90% of the market, with PC and console at a few percent.

Typical smartphones cost $200 to $400. That single fact shapes most product decisions: install size, memory use, battery drain, heat, and how much graphical ambition a game can carry before it starts losing players at the first session.

Engagement is rising. Weekly gaming time grew 30% to 13 hours, according to Lumikai's FY24 data.

Player segments

Lumikai counted 591 million gamers in FY24, with the female share rising from 41% to 44%. About 66% of gamers are outside metros.

Publishers usually find it useful to think in a few working segments. These are a planning framework, not measured categories:

• Casual players: the largest group by reach, lower spend, broadly comfortable with ads.
• Mid-core players: fewer in number but far more valuable per payer (see below).
• Competitive and e-sports players: a segment now explicitly recognised in law, which may support tournaments and community programmes.
• Non-metro players: the majority of the audience, with different devices, networks, languages and price expectations from metro players.

Monetisation

India rewards studios that respect the player's wallet and punishes those that do not.

In FY24, Lumikai reported 148 million paying gamers with an average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) of $22. Those figures come from the period before the ban. The CY25 data is more useful for planning: payer conversion held steady at 25%, and mid-core ARPPU was $15 against $3 for casual.

The forecast mix also tells a story. Lumikai expects in-app purchase revenue to grow at 19% and advertising at 13%. Both matter, but purchases are expected to grow faster.

Advertising is a real lever. 47% of users are ad-tolerant. The aggregate ad eCPM was $1.1, while rewarded ads reached $2.43. Rewarded formats, where the player chooses to watch in exchange for something useful, are worth designing in from the start rather than bolting on.

One more data point for context: gaming is 36% of revenue among India's top 25 apps (44% globally) but only 8% of downloads (16% globally). Games earn well relative to their download share, but they still occupy less of the app economy than they do elsewhere.

Payments need attention. 83% of players prefer UPI or digital wallets. A purchase flow designed around cards will leak conversions.

Distribution

Distribution in India is Android-first, and Google Play is the default storefront for most studios. Beyond the store, publishers typically look at device manufacturer channels, telecom partnerships, creator and streamer communities, and e-sports or community events.

Hypothesis to validate: Creator-led discovery and community channels may deliver more efficient installs than paid UA for some genres in India. The right mix depends on genre and should be tested title by title.

Regional differences

India is not one market. With about 66% of gamers outside metros, the typical player is not in Mumbai or Bengaluru. Language preference, cultural references, device quality, data costs and network reliability all vary by region.

Practical consequences include offering more than English, testing on low and mid-range devices, keeping download sizes small, and supporting play under patchy connectivity.

Hypothesis to validate: Regional language support may lift retention outside metros more than it lifts revenue. Measure both separately rather than assuming one follows the other.

Opportunities for international studios

The post-ban market favours games that are fun, fair and technically light. Areas worth examining:

• Mid-core titles with fair monetisation: the $15 versus $3 ARPPU gap makes the case for depth.
• Casual and hybrid-casual games with rewarded ads: reach plus a strong rewarded eCPM.
• Competitive and e-sports-ready games: legal recognition gives this segment firmer footing.
• Games built for mid-range Android: performance is a feature, not a technical afterthought.
• Culturally adapted content: settings, characters and events that feel at home in India.

As a hypothetical example, a European puzzle studio with a strong ad-supported title might enter with a lighter build, a rewarded-ad economy and UPI-friendly purchases, then add regional languages once early retention data is in.

Pre-entry checklist

• Confirm your game is an online social game with no monetary stakes, and review how the Authority on Online Gaming may categorise it
• Base revenue planning on the post-ban $1.5 billion market, not the $3.8 billion FY24 figure
• Profile performance on $200 to $400 Android devices
• Decide your mix of in-app purchases and rewarded ads
• Support UPI and digital wallets at checkout
• Choose launch languages beyond English
• Plan a distribution mix beyond the store listing
• Set retention and payer conversion targets against the 25% benchmark

Where GamerVault fits

GamerVault is an independent publisher based in Bengaluru and London, working like a film distributor, but for games. We take on a small catalogue so each title gets senior attention, with no upfront fee for studios and a proposed revenue share that starts at 50:50 and adjusts as the game grows. If you are weighing India for a title, we are happy to talk it through.