Tracxn identifies Indian gaming industry funding at a 6-year high in 2020

According to Tracxn, which tracks investments and financials of private companies and start-ups, 2020 saw $131.1 million being invested in the online gaming sector in India which is the highest in the last six years.

It has been well established that the last year saw a massive boom in the online gaming sector with people staying at home and preferring to play more mobile games. So much so that the likes of Mobile Premier League and Dream11 led the way in seizing the momentum to capitalize on the market and now the latest report shows the kind of dominance that the industry had in the last year.

Tracxn reported that $131.1 million was invested in the online gaming sector in India in 2020, the highest in the last six years. The number of firms that received the funding also climbed to 11 companies; another six-year high.

"Gaming has been on an upward trajectory in India for over three years. Last year's lockdown was a black swan event that accelerated the rise of this industry with user engagement increasing on e-sports and skill-gaming platforms," said Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League (MPL), adding, "Last year, the focus also turned to games that are made in India by Indian game developers and studios and investors made a beeline as they saw potential in the sector.

"Further, with Internet penetration in India only increasing and digital payments catching on beyond the metros, a lot of the tier-2 and tier-3 cities' population started taking to e-sports and gaming in a big way. All these factors contributed to the sector attracting investment."