From Gamers to Pro Athletes: How Esports Is Changing Entertainment in India

Introduction

In recent years, the traditional boundaries between esports, sports, and entertainment have blurred. What once was a niche pastime — gamers in basements playing for fun — has rapidly evolved into a professionalised sector where top gamers are treated like athletes, brands are staking serious money, and live audiences cheer as if watching football or cricket. In India, this revolution is particularly compelling. With the convergence of technology, youth culture, and large‐scale investment, esports is transforming into a viable career path and major entertainment domain. In this article, we’ll explore how esports is growing in India, examine major events and players currently driving the momentum, and uncover what the future might hold for careers in this space.

The Big Picture: India’s Esports Surge

A booming user base

India’s online gaming population is massive and still growing. One latest estimate put it at 488 million people in 2024.
Of those, a rapidly increasing portion are engaged in watching and participating in competitive gaming or esports — the dedicated esports viewership reportedly rose from about 25 million in 2022 to 57 million in 2024.
In terms of spending, one recent article noted India’s gaming market “surpassed 500 million gamers in 2025, with player spending crossing the $1 billion mark.”

Market size and forecasts

The growth isn’t just in head‐counts; it’s in dollars too. According to a market report, the Indian esports market is estimated at USD 203.6 million in 2025, and is expected to reach USD 640.9 million by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~17.8% during 2025–2032.
Another source states the 2024 valuation at about USD 208.73 million, projecting growth at 18.8% CAGR up to 2034, to reach USD 1.17 billion. Claight
Brand sponsorship is a key enabler: in the South Asian market (including India) brand sponsorships are expected to account for nearly two‐thirds of the incremental expansion in esports.

Structural ecosystem formation

The institutional framework is also taking shape. For example, the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) is recognised as the national body to promote, organize, train and regulate esports in India. This kind of infrastructure gives esports legitimacy — aligning it more closely with sport than just entertainment or casual gaming.
At the same time, the number of large‐scale tournaments in India is increasing rapidly: one report says India hosted over 275 major esports tournaments in 2024 (up from 190 in 2023).

Why India? What’s Driving the Shift?

There are several interlocking factors that make India a fertile ground for esports to flourish:

Youth population & mobile reach:
India has a large, digitally connected youth population, increasingly comfortable with mobile gaming. Lower cost hardware (smartphones) and cheaper data have broadened access.
Mobile‐first gaming culture:
Unlike some Western markets dominated by PC/console gaming, India’s gaming boom is primarily mobile‐driven. That means broad reach and lower barriers to entry for participants.
Improving ecosystem & monetisation:
Streaming platforms (e.g., YouTube, Twitch, and Indian equivalents) are boosting visibility. Monetisation is improving via sponsorships, tournament prize pools, branded content and influencer tie‐ups.
Recognition & legitimacy:
With esports bodies, tournaments, and even mention in multi‐sport events, the perceived legitimacy of esports as a “real career” is improving. The fact that it’s being treated similarly to sport (with tournaments, teams, coaches, perhaps even futures in athlete training) helps shift the perception from “just playing games” to “competing professionally”.
Brand and entertainment convergence:
Esports sits at the intersection of gaming, entertainment, celebrity culture and sports. As streaming, influencers, content creation and tournaments meet, traditional entertainment values (stories, personalities, stage presence) are merging into the esports space.

Recent & Major Events: India in the Global Frame

To illustrate the real momentum, let’s dive into some recent noteworthy events and highlights.

1. Battlegrounds Mobile India Cup (BMIC) 2025 (New Delhi)

This tournament, held from October 31, 2025 in Delhi, marked a big milestone: top BGMI teams from India, South Korea and Japan competed for a prize pool of ₹1 crore.
At the opening ceremony, Sean Hyunil Sohn (CEO of KRAFTON India) affirmed the company’s commitment: “We are deeply committed to esports in India and will bring bigger and better platforms in the coming years.”
The event signals that India is becoming a global hub for competitive gaming, not just a consumer market. The fact that it hosted international teams shows interplay with the international scene.

2. Global tournaments featuring Indian talent

On a wider stage, the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2025 (PMWC) staged in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, drew 24 teams globally — including representation from South Asia.
Indian esports organisations like S8UL Esports (based in Mumbai) were selected to represent India at Esports World Cup 2025 across multiple titles.

3. Strategic enterprise investment

Big business is happening: The joint venture between RISE Worldwide (sports management arm of Reliance Industries) and Denmark‐based BLAST ApS to launch “Jio BLAST eSports” is a clear demonstration of belief in the Indian market.
Such investment indicates that the ecosystem is viewed as strategically important — not ephemeral.

From Player to Professional: Careers in Esports

One of the most exciting aspects of the esports explosion is that gaming is no longer just a hobby — it’s increasingly a career path. Let’s look at how that’s unfolding in India.

Professional gaming as athlete‐style

The structure around professional gaming is becoming more like traditional sports:

Teams and organisations: Indian teams are forming, recruiting talent, offering coaching, staging training.
Example: S8UL’s structure includes content creators and competitive divisions in BGMI, Call of Duty Mobile, Pokémon Unite, etc.
Tournaments with meaningful prize pools: As seen above, ₹1 crore plus pools, international competition, and qualifying systems are in place.
Support ecosystem: Coaching, analytics, mental training, sponsorship deals — all reflect increasing professionalisation.
Recognition by federations: The ESFI gives formal recognition to esports as a sporting discipline in India.

Career paths beyond playing

While playing is the most visible role, a broad ecosystem is emerging:

Content creation/influencing: Many gamers build followings on YouTube, Twitch and other platforms. They monetise via ads, donations, brand collaborations, OTT appearances.
Team management/operations: Professionals are needed to run teams – managers, coaches, analysts, social media leads.
Event production & broadcasting: Live events, streaming infrastructure, tournament production require technical and creative talent.
Brand partnerships & sponsorship activation: Agencies and brand specialists are exploring how to tap esports audiences.
Academies & training: As recognition grows, training centres (physical or virtual) may train young gamers like we have in sport.

Why this is particularly appealing in India

Relatively low barrier to entry: Mobile gaming in India means fewer infrastructure costs compared to, say, console/PC gaming in some markets.
Youth demographic: A young population means lots of potential new entrants; gaming is culturally accepted among youth.
Rapid growth & opportunity: Because the sector is still nascent in India compared to some mature markets, early entrants may benefit significantly.
Hybrid entertainment appeal: For gamers who may not pursue “traditional sport” (cricket, football), esports offers a path to competitiveness, community, and possibility of earnings.

Challenges & Considerations

Of course, despite the strong momentum, there are meaningful challenges and caveats.

Sustainability & monetisation

While numbers are growing, monetisation remains a challenge in many cases. Sponsorship, advertising and organisational revenue streams need to scale. Reports caution about an “esports winter” in some regions where investment cooled.

Infrastructure and professionalism

High-quality training, infrastructure, coaching, wellness support (mental and physical) for gamers still remains less developed compared to traditional sport in India. Without that, the professionalisation may stall.
Also, standardising rules, ensuring fair play, regulating tournaments will require strong governance frameworks (where ESFI can play a role).

Career risk and instability

For players, the risk is still high: careers are short, earnings can be unreliable, only a small fraction will make it to top-tier tournaments. Thus, long-term planning (education, alternate roles) is important.
Moreover, the pace of change in games, platforms, and audience tastes means what’s hot today may fade tomorrow.

Societal perception

Although perception is improving, gaming and esports still sometimes face stigma in parts of Indian society (viewed as “just gaming”, less serious than “real sport”). Changing this mindset is ongoing.
Also, there are issues of screen time, health impact, and balance, which stakeholders must manage responsibly.

What’s Next: Trends to Watch

Deepening integration with entertainment & pop culture

Esports in India is likely to become increasingly integrated with broader entertainment—celebrity endorsements, crossover with streaming shows, YouTube influencers, OTT, even film and TV collaborations. Gaming personalities may become mainstream stars with fan-bases beyond the immediate gaming community.

Institutional support & collegiate esports

There is a growing push to bring collegiate and educational institution involvement into esports. For example, India is seeing tie-ups to host tournaments like the “May Madness” style esports event in partnership with US collegiate models.
Such initiatives help build feeder pipelines, formalise careers and give legitimacy to esports as a path like college sport.

Global competitions & Indian representation

With Indian teams and gamers striving for global representation, and with international tournaments held in India (or Indian teams attending abroad), there is strong impetus for Indian talent to go global. The PMWC and other global events highlight this.
This may lead to local leagues, franchises, and global collaborations.

Brand & sponsorship innovation

Brands will increasingly see esports as a way to engage youth, digital natives and Gen Z. As the data shows, brand sponsorship is one of the fastest‐growing parts of the ecosystem in India.
Expect collaborations with consumer brands, fashion, lifestyle, streaming platforms, telecom, and mobile device manufacturers to intensify.

Career diversification and ecosystem growth

As the ecosystem matures, we’ll likely see more training academies, structured player pathways, talent scouting programmes, player unionisation or associations, wellness programmes (physical fitness, mental health) and more corporate/venture funding into teams.
Players won’t just be “gamers” but multi-hat personalities (streamer + competitor + content creator + brand ambassador).

Highlighting Key Players & Organisations

Akshat Rathee

Akshat Rathee, Co-founder and Managing Director of Indian esports organisation NODWIN Gaming, is one of the voices often cited in the Indian esports boom. His commentary highlights that India’s online gaming population and esports viewership are at a critical scale to support large tournaments and professional ecosystems.

S8UL Esports

As noted above, this is a Mumbai-based organisation—formed from a merger of Team Soul and 8bit—that competes across multiple titles in India and internationally. In 2025, they were selected to represent India at the Esports World Cup.
Their model spans competitive gaming and content creation/influencer work, which typifies how modern esports entities operate.

Sean Hyunil Sohn

The CEO of KRAFTON India, he is relevant because KRAFTON is the key company behind titles such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). His remarks at BMIC 2025 underscore the international expansion and commitment of global game-makers to the Indian market.

Why This Matters for Entertainment and Beyond

A new kind of athlete and fandom

Esports players are becoming celebrities in their own right. They have personal brands, followers, social media presence, streaming audiences, and compete in arenas. From the public’s viewpoint, they are not just “gamers playing in bedrooms”—they train, they strategise, they perform live, they compete for money, they have fan communities.
For entertainment, that means new storylines, engagement formats, live event production, influencer marketing—essentially, esports is a new branch of the entertainment ecosystem.

Content, streaming and digital culture convergence

Many fans don’t merely watch live matches—they watch highlights, behind-the-scenes, team houses, influencer collabs, streaming personalities. Esports intersects with YouTube, Twitch, mobile apps, social media, influencer culture, and traditional entertainment. That makes it both participatory and consumable.
For India-specific context, this means more vernacular content, mobile‐first streaming, regional languages, tie-ups with Indian celebrities/influencers.

Economic and employment impact

Given the forecasts, the growth of esports can generate jobs—not only for pro players but for content creators, event production teams, streaming engineers, community managers, brand specialists, analysts, coaches and more. For youth looking for career alternatives, this is meaningful.
In addition, as tournaments scale up, venue rentals, event logistics, live audience experiences, merchandise, and sponsorships become part of the ecosystem.

Societal and cultural relevance

Esports offers a way to leverage digital literacy, technology adoption, and youth aspiration in India. It aligns with India’s broader digital economy goals, the push for startup culture, and the increasing globalisation of Indian talent and entertainment.
By creating visible pathways (from amateur gamer to streamer to athlete to brand ambassador), esports helps change narratives around gaming, career choices, and digital opportunity.

How to Get Involved: For Gamers, Parents & Stakeholders

For aspiring gamers

Treat it like a sport: take it seriously. That means practice, strategy, teamwork (in team games), physical health, mental wellness and discipline.
Build your brand: Beyond playing, streaming, social media presence, content creation and networking matter.
Learn from others: Look at organisations and teams (like S8UL). Follow what pro-players do. Join scrims/tournaments.
Have backup plans: Even in sport, only a minority reach the top. Consider education/training in parallel.
Choose the right platform/title: Mobile gaming is dominant in India but PC/console titles are growing. Understand which ecosystem you want to pursue.

For parents/guardians

Understand the ecosystem: Recognise that gaming is evolving into legitimate sport and entertainment career.
Set healthy boundaries: Monitor screen time, ensure physical health (exercise, posture, breaks), support a balanced lifestyle.
Encourage multidisciplinary skills: Communication, streaming, content creation, analytics, teamwork are as relevant as play-skills.
Support training: If the child is serious, consider structured training, coaching, joining tournaments.

For brands, event organisers & stakeholders

Recognise the engagement value: Esports audiences are young, digitally native, and often global. Sponsorships offer a way to reach them.
Build ecosystem infrastructure: Invest in tournaments, academies, content creation, streaming platforms, wellness programmes.
Collaborate regionally/internationally: Given Indian talent and global games, partnerships with international organisations (like KRAFTON, BLAST) can raise standards.
Emphasise diversity & inclusion: Women gamers, regional languages, vernacular content, grassroots academies help broaden the base.
Measure ROI: Sponsorships and brand tie-ups must deliver engagement, viewership, brand reputation metrics not just impressions.

Looking Ahead: What India Might See in the Next 5 Years

Franchise‐style leagues in India: Similar to IPL in cricket, we may see city/region based teams in esports, live arenas, regular seasons, much like sports leagues.
Campus and collegiate tournaments: With tie-ups like the CECC May Madness initiative, esports may become part of collegiate sport in India.
Mainstream media coverage: More esports matches broadcast on TV/OTT, bigger live audiences, celebrity crossover.
Global Indian talent: Indian teams and players qualifying for and winning major global tournaments will raise the profile further.
Broader game genres: Right now mobile battle-royale games dominate (e.g., BGMI), but PC/console titles (FPS, fighting games, strategy) will grow and diversify the ecosystem.
Supporting ecosystem maturity: Professional coaching, player welfare (physical, mental), broadcasting standards, anti-cheat measures, tournament governance will become critical.
Monetisation evolution: From prize money to salaries, streaming revenue, team merchandising, brand/advertising partnerships, audience subscription models.
Regional language and local content explosion: India’s diversity means there’s opportunity to create region-specific esports content (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi etc.), regional tournaments and creator communities.
Intersection with entertainment: Viewing experiences will gel with entertainment—celebrity matches, influencer-led tournaments, gaming talk shows, gaming content in mainstream media.

Conclusion

The narrative of “gamers playing in basement rooms for fun” has shifted. In India, esports is ascending as a serious field — where competition is fierce, careers are possible, and entertainment value is high. From the 488 million online gamers to professional organisations like S8UL, from joint ventures such as Jio BLAST eSports to million-dollar plus tournaments, the momentum is real and accelerating.

For those willing to take it seriously—whether as competitive players, content creators, coaches, event organisers or brand partners—the opportunity is there. But it won’t simply be handed out: building a career in esports requires discipline, strategy, market awareness and adaptability. As the ecosystem matures, Indian gamers and stakeholders can aim not just to participate, but to dominate on a global stage.

If you’re someone exploring how to enter esports in India, whether as a player or a stakeholder, now is a tremendously exciting moment to jump in. With the right mindset, the right support and the right platform, the “from gamers to pro athletes” journey isn’t just a slogan — it’s becoming a tangible reality.

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