The rise and rise of women in gaming

The Indian gaming market is poised to reach $3.9 billion in value by 2025, according to a report by IAMAI in collaboration with OnePlus and RedSeer. Meanwhile, a recent study by Boston Consulting Group & Sequoia pegs India’s mobile gaming industry as a $5 billion market opportunity.

Gaming, which had already been on a rising growth trajectory before Covid-19 struck, saw an explosion during the pandemic period as people remained confined to their homes. And this momentum continues even as the situation has returned to near normal.

While the gaming industry is more or less still a male dominated field, a survey conducted between February 9 and 16, 2021, on the InMobi Pulse Platform, revealed that 49% of women started playing games during the to the pandemic period.

The perception towards women in gaming is slowly changing with time. More and more people are welcoming the fact that women gamers are finding their niche in online gaming. What was considered a no-no before has become a source of pride for women gaming creators. According to a WPP report on Women in Gaming, the video games industry is expected to be worth $200 billion in 2023 and much of the investment is being driven by an increasingly diverse audience.

Speaking about how the perspective of the society has changed over the years, gamer Kangkana Tadulkar said, “Platforms such as Facebook have played a significant role in encouraging and enabling creators like me to reach a wider audience. This means that more people are noticing and recognising women gamers and are thus, more likely to view their streams and know more about other women creators. There are many positive changes in the perception of women who take up online gaming, and I am quite happy about it.”

“The number of women gamers is slowly on the rise, and I am happy to be a part of this change. I think that women gaming creators who are putting themselves out there are showcasing their talent. I also think that male gamers get more support than women gamers, but I think that our perseverance and positive attitude will keep us going,” added another female gamer, Sakshi Sood.

Previously, it was difficult to take online streaming as a career option seriously, but now with the support of platforms such as Facebook Gaming, it is becoming quite easy and viable for women creators passionate about gaming and streaming. The entry barriers are only limited to having a good PC and an Internet connection.

Elaborating on the changes that can be made by the gamers to attract more women gamers, gamer Aparna Shukla said, “Male gamers can stream with female gamers to give their audience more exposure to women creators. Other than this, we should also encourage people to be nice to all creators, irrespective of where they are in their journey since everyone has challenges. Just because they do something in public does not mean they’re invincible. But I think that the perception towards women in gaming is changing for the better, and I hope we can keep going in this direction.”