In 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic and the lockdown accelerated the gaming sector exponentially. Like other gaming platforms, Paytm First Games has also witnessed a surge in number during this time. Apart from that, in 2020, Paytm First Games partnered with international gaming giants like Riot Games, Garena, Supercell, ESPL to bring the best of esports for Indian gamers.
Speaking about the current online gaming scene and where it is heading in 2021 Paytm First Games COO Sudhanshu Gupta shared with AnimationXpress:
“The mobile gaming sector is going through an exciting phase with increased support from the government to boost the gaming sector and the attention of investors across the world. Going by the industry reports, India is already the largest emerging market in terms of gaming app downloads and registers nearly three billion downloads annually. The online gaming segment is estimated to be a one to two billion dollar opportunity by 2021 and by then, India is expected to have more than 628 million gamers. We are expecting the actual numbers would surpass the predicted ones with a wide margin and the industry will witness a J curve growth in the coming time.”
Today one of the popular esports titles Valorant has started setting its footprints in India and to set it even deeper Paytm First Games is planning to launch the Valorant tournament in January 2021. With the tournament they are aiming to set a benchmark as ‘the biggest tournament ever organised in our country’ and for it they will be making a detailed announcement in the coming days.
Earlier, they had received an overwhelming response for the Clash Royale and Teamfight Tactics tournament which was organised in 2020. They aim to continue the partnership by organising such championships in the future. With that they want to “become a one-stop destination where users can play India’s biggest esports tournaments,” Gupta added.
Paytm First Games also shared that they have various tournaments and game launches in the pipeline. “Over the next few months, we would be bringing in more games under various formats and exponentially expand fantasy sports in India.” Over the past few months they have been actively involved in live sports and they have partnered with various national and international sports teams. Most recently they have signed two football teams – Chennaian FC and FC Goa. “We are excited to see their performances this season and wish to be a part of many such initiatives,” he added.
With that he also shared that Fantasy Cricket is also one of the most popular games on their platform. Besides that, other games like Rummy, Chess, Pool and Ludo also have witnessed high user engagement from players across the country.
Comment on the future plans he added, “In 2021, we will continue to focus on expanding our platform and hiring the best creative minds in the business to make Paytm First Games the top gaming destination. Along with this, we will also stay committed to creating awareness about multiple gaming genres in smaller cities and towns and bringing a world-class gaming experience to our users. This would help us to tap on our country’s huge untapped pool of sports lovers who can excel in this field and even take it up professionally.”