How Pandemic and Lockdown Reshaped Gaming Habits in India

For most gamers, gaming habits typically span for a few hours every week. It could be a few minutes of a casual game, a match on FIFA or, if you know how to play rummy, then a round of rummy game. This is because a typical day involves a lot of activities, like studies, travel, work, shopping, etc., unless you are under house arrest.

The COVID-19 lockdown was like a house arrest for everyone because it stalled everyday life as we knew it. It led to a surge in all things digital, be it online payments, shopping or gaming. People chose contactless options in every aspect of life, including recreation. Thus, a great leap in gaming happened in India.

A Sudden Uptick

It was not much of a surprise that mobile gaming saw a 62% uptick as the lockdown started in March 2020. Player traffic in hyper-casual games increased by 8-10% during this period. Within a month of the lockdown, the average time spent on online gaming in India increased from 2.1 hours to 4.5 hours. In percentages, this was an increase from 11% of total smartphone use to 15%. 

Along with the amount of time spent, the number of gamers also increased drastically during 2020. Between 2018 and 2019, around 22 million new gamers joined the community. In 2020, more than 60 million new gamers were added before falling back to 30 million in 2021. It took two years from 2021 for 60 million new gamers to join. This alone reflects that an unusually high number of Indians tried gaming for the first time in the pandemic year.

A New High

The good news for the gaming industry is that the numbers didn’t return to the pre-pandemic levels even after the lockdown was lifted. Indians continued to spend 12% of their smartphone time on online gaming in June 2021. In other words, more than a year after the pandemic broke out, Indians were gaming at an average of 3.1 hours every week.

In a survey conducted after the pandemic in 2021, 45% of the surveyed gamers confirmed that they started playing online games due to the lockdown situation. 80% of these respondents admitted to having continued playing one online game every day since the pandemic. 38% of them even increased the number of games played within one year of the pandemic.

During the pandemic, a large section of gaming enthusiasts would play online games for hours at a stretch. A very interesting improvisation of this pattern emerged in the post-COVID scenario. To pursue their passion for gaming while getting on with their daily activities, many gamers opted for short yet frequent spells of gaming. 40% of respondents of the aforementioned survey disclosed that they kept themselves entertained through short, 10-minute gaming sessions between their office work, household chores and meals.

It would be safe to say that gaming has become an integral part of people’s lives in India, albeit in varying degrees.

A Look at Key Influences

One major influence of the pandemic on gaming was the ease of access. Apart from time to spare, people also had increased access to gaming in the years since the pandemic. The 5G network was rolled out, and smartphone penetration in India increased rapidly. With one of the cheapest data charges in the world, online gaming proved to be a highly affordable form of recreation. Notably, at $0.16, data charge in India is the seventh cheapest in the world.

The pandemic also resulted in a halt in offline gaming tournaments. This increased traffic in online tournaments, like the RummyCulture’s rummy game tournaments. As the pandemic hit, traffic increased by up to 10% on many such platforms. New gamers who didn’t want to miss the online entertainment also tried to learn how to play rummy. It was during this period that India’s biggest Clash Royale online tournament took place with 11,000 participants. All of this subsequently increased the total number of gamers in India.

Another pandemic-induced influence on gaming was its cultural acceptance in India. The transparency and safety of real money games and the carefree fun of casual games have eased this cultural shift. The governments also played their part. The government of Kerala, for instance, launched a COVID-19-themed mobile game. These factors provide positive coverage to the gaming industry in India. 

A New World in Gaming

The years that followed the pandemic have shown that gaming habits are here to stay. Gaming has helped people cope with what was termed as ‘pandemic fatigue’. The economic lull of 2022 reduced the revenue numbers in gaming, but the mobile gaming segment remained resolute in terms of profitability. The most palpable effect of lockdown is that it has made gaming an integral part of millions of Indians. This continues to boost the prospects of the industry in India.