Krafton India, maker of popular online game BGMI, on Thursday called on the government to take supportive measures to boost the country’s online gaming industry.
Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India, highlighted the labor cost subsidies that countries such as the UAE and Canada offer gaming companies, and said innovative ways could be found to boost the industry in the country.
“The data actually shows how governments around the world see the gaming business as one of the future growth drivers for job creation… We all know that India needs more tax revenue to develop the country, but at the same time, I hope the Indian government can Find creative ways to grow the industry,” he said while speaking at the CII Digital Gaming event here.
The GST Commission, which imposed a 28 percent tax on the full face value of online gaming bets, will come into force on October 1 and will review the levy six months after its implementation.
Sean said India’s cheap internet and mobile penetration will boost gaming in India and create opportunities for gaming companies, highlighting the “unique advantage” of Indian gamers as mobile-native players, unlike consoles, PCs Western gamers turning to smartphone games are different. and arcade games.
“There are currently 500 million gamers in India, and the real gamers are around 100 million, not as many as China or South Korea, but given the very low cost of mobile internet and the ubiquity of smartphones, I think the number of gamers will increase. The growth rate is very fast … bringing more opportunities for game companies like ours,” he said.
He said the Indian market is “quite large” for top games such as BGMI and “heavily skewed” towards top players compared to other gaming markets. However, he believes that the diversification and development of the gaming industry will lead to the emergence of more players.
The Krafton India CEO also spoke about the company’s investment in Gurgaon-based Nodwin Gaming, saying that “90% of Nodwin’s revenue comes from mobile esports gaming events”.
The gaming industry has grown from being a small industry in the entertainment market to “about 80% of the film and video game industries combined,” he said.
Prosenjit Ghosh, head of Sony India’s PlayStation division, said gaming is becoming a mainstream form of entertainment, “almost on par with other mainstream forms of entertainment in India such as cricket or movies.”
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