Around half of the global population reportedly plays games of some kind, whether it’s AAA console games or hyper-casual apps on a smartphone. In India, the proportion of people that play games is a little smaller, but there are still more than 300 million gamers living within its borders.
These players generated around ₹6,200 crores for the industry in 2019 and they’re expected to spend even more in 2020.
While just about every genre of game is enjoyed within India, here are some of the most popular titles currently being played by the country’s gamers.
Fortnite
The battle royale game, Fortnite, has been in the news a lot recently after its developer, Epic Games has got into a legal battle with Apple.
The game has become a hit around the world, with the Fortnite dance moves being recreated by people on social media. The game’s IP has been licensed for a range of merchandise too, including branded clothing, ornaments, and water bottles.
Epic Games doesn’t release official player stats very often, but it is believed there are more than 250 million registered players and the game regularly sees concurrent players (the number of people logged in at the same time) exceed 10 million.
The game lagged behind others in the country until it released a mobile version. Since then, Indian gamers have been downloading it in record numbers.
PokerStars
Online poker has become very popular in India in recent years. While traditionally the game has been played with real money, users of PokerStars have a choice between real-money and free games. Free games are a great way for new players to work on their strategy and style before wagering for real.
Poker has been growing in popularity throughout India, with people from many backgrounds coming together to compete. This is reflected in the company's ambassadors, which includes sports stars, fashion designers, accountants, animators, and authors.
PokerStars can be played online through your computer or via a smartphone with apps available for mobile Android and iOS.
Coin Master
Coin Master is an empire building game where you’re tasked with building a large loot of coins. There are several ways you can do it, the first is through a slot machine game for which you get daily free spins.
You can then get more by attacking and raiding the villages of other players, pulling off heists in the different buildings as you gather your loot. You can move to bigger and better villages by hunting for treasure. Each piece of treasure you find gives you a card that you can use to upgrade.
Coin Master is a casual game that is built around its community of players. It has been downloaded nearly 100 million times and has been the top-grossing mobile game in several markets around the world.
The popularity of the game comes from the fact that it requires a careful strategy to succeed. It’s not as simple as collecting coins, you need to plan your attacks and design a defensive system for your own village to protect your fortune.
8 Ball Pool
Cue sports like billiards are popular in India. The game of snooker was even invented in the country. It’s no surprise then that Miniclip’s 8 Ball Pool game is a hit here in India.
The game is available through the Miniclip website, and can be controlled by the user’s mouse. The controls are intuitive and easy to pick up, using the mouse to aim and the cue and a single click to draw it back. Mobile versions are also available for iOS and Android, meaning you can play all 999 different levels on the go.
It’s possible to play 8 Ball Pool without an account, but registering gives you the opportunity to play against friends, as well as creating your own customised cue and tables. For players that think they have what it takes, 8 Ball Pool also offers tournaments for them to take on all of the greatest players from around the world.
As you can see from this selection of games, Indians have a very broad taste when it comes to games, with a range of classic and contemporary titles all proving quite popular.