India’s digital gaming market to reach $4.3 bn by FY30: Report

India’s Gaming and Interactive Media segments are growing 1.5 times faster than the overall digital media and entertainment market, according to a new report titled The Gaming and Interactive Media Opportunity in India by BITKRAFT Ventures and Redseer Strategy Consultants.

The Digital Media & Entertainment market in India is valued at $9.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25). Gaming and Interactive Media currently account for $2.4 billion of this market in FY25, and are projected to grow by 26% CAGR, reaching an estimated $7.8 billion by FY30P (Projected Fiscal Year 2030).

Following regulatory intervention banning online money gaming in August 2025, the market's focus has shifted entirely to digital games and esports.

The digital gaming market is projected to more than double from FY25 to FY30P. It is expected to grow at an 18% CAGR to reach $4.3 billion by FY30P.

Hybrid casual titles are driving user base growth, while battle royale games are fueling monetisation.

The monetisation landscape is shifting, with in-app purchases (IAPs) expected to surpass ad revenue by FY30P. IAPs are projected to see a 28% CAGR from FY25 to FY30P, compared to 9% for advertisement revenue.

India's developer scene is growing, with over 500 gaming-focused startups launched in the last five years.

The esports market is also set for significant expansion.

Esports is projected to grow at a 26% CAGR to reach $132 million by FY30P. The market is expected to triple from FY25 to FY30P. This growth is primarily backed by sponsorship-led revenues.

The Interactive Media market is expected to grow from $440 million in FY25 to $3.2 billion by FY30P.

Astro and devotional tech and micro dramas are anticipated to be the fastest-growing segments. Astro & Devotional Tech is digitising a massive offline market, with the tech segment projected to grow 8x from $165 million in FY25 to $1.3 billion by FY30P. This growth is led by 1:1 consultations. Micro dramas, a nascent segment in India, are projected to reach $1.1 billion by FY30P.

Audio streaming is set to quadruple from $72 million to $300 million by FY30P, driven by high user engagement of 95 minutes per day for power users.

Connect platforms, such as short-form Video (SFV), live streaming, and social discovery, make up 82% of the total Interactive Media market in FY25.

The India SFV and Social Discovery market is a $202 million market in FY25, projected to triple by FY30P to $575 million, monetizing through virtual tipping and 1:1 private calling.

The projected growth is supported by several strong factors:

• Demographics: India has a young, large user base of 835 million internet users with a median age of 29.
• High Engagement: India exhibits one of the highest daily smartphone engagement rates globally, with users spending an average of 5.0 hours on their smartphones per day.
• Tier 2/Tier 3 Adoption: Adoption is accelerating due to the evolving needs of the "Bharat" or Tier 2+ cities. The majority of social media users and digital transactors now belong to Tier 2+ cities.