Ishaan Arya – Co-founder, The Esports Club
Gaming was a bit of a late bloomer in India, but much like the kid you underestimated back in school, it has really come of age and is now presenting itself as the next big thing. Despite a very late introduction to video games, thanks to the smartphone boom and 4G revolution in the country, suddenly you have one of the largest potential audiences playing and watching video games. This created the perfect conditions for mobile esports to grow and thrive in the region to the point that PUBG Mobile in India eventually boasted more prize money and viewership than anywhere else in the world. Ishaan Arya, Co-founder, The Esports Club, one of the largest organizers of esports in South Asia, talks about the rising popularity of electronic sports, its business aspects and how TEC is contributing to the same, in an interaction with Ramesh Kumar Raja. Arya also brings to fore how the ecosystem of sports is giving rise to lucrative career options. Excerpts:
Online gaming has undergone a massive change, especially in the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns. How do you look at this emerging trend, especially in the context of esports?
gaming and esports witnessed a lot of growth during COVID-19 lockdowns due to the online nature of the industry. the increased focus on online activities helped esports gain a lot more mainstream attention driving greater awareness and growth. I expect esports to continue on that trajectory.
Can you please tell us about the whole business of esports, its market size and opportunities in India? the business of esports is very similar to the business of traditional sports. It is primarily for spectators. as the spectators in this space grow, the category grows. In India, we at tec estimate that we have around 40m esports viewership and the size is growing in double digits year over year.
the demographics of esports is also different from actual gamers. they are a matured set of audience and hence brands and advertisers target esports for their marketing objectives. (see table)
Do you think India has a huge potential mobile market to tap into esports? being one of the largest mobile markets in the world definitely helps on the esports front. India automatically has a massive player base as well as pool of potential viewers. globally, Indian viewership for mobile esports titles like pubg and Free Fire is one of the highest, so it’s definitely a positive sign.
What exactly The Esports Club does and how it is contributing to this emerging tech revolution? the esports Club is one of the largest esports organizers in all of south
asia. We currently run some of the largest
events for games like Valorant and tom Clancy’s rainbow six siege; while also helping organize events for top brands and publishers.
How many games and tournaments do you offer on your platform and how have been their responses? We’ve organized dozens of large-scale events and many more small-scale events across games like Valorant, tom Clancy’s rainbow six siege, apex Legends, Call of Duty Warzone, FIFA 21, etc. all our events usually hit the maximum participant capacity and our Valorant event, the tec gauntlet is the number 1 event in the region in terms of participation and also one of the most watched pc esports events in the region.
How has been the business so far for The Esports Club in the last few months? What are your expectations post COVID-19 era? From a business standpoint, we continue to grow and expand. We’ve already surpassed our 2020 revenue within just 6 months of the new financial year and our participation and viewership are increasing every single month. Our focus is to continue developing both existing and new esports Ips, while also expanding our revenue verticals within the company.
“From a business standpoint, we continue to grow and expand. We’ve already surpassed our 2020 revenue within just 6 months of the new financial year and our participation and viewership are increasing every single month. Our focus is to continue developing both existing and new esports IPS, while also expanding our revenue verticals within the company”
What are the ways to promote, encourage, organize, educate, train and regulate esports in India? esports still requires a lot of awareness. so, working with the right influencers, developing a robust pr strategy and an engaging social media and content strategy are key in reaching more and more people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently routed for #Atmanirbharbharat in the gaming sector. How prepared is India for the same?
there is certainly no shortage of talented game developers and studios in India, this is something we’ve seen with the popularity of games like raji in recent times. However, esports titles require a very different approach and skillset and it may take time to provide a world class polished esports title.
What have been the major achievements of The Esports Club? the esports Club gauntlet is the largest Valorant esports event in south asia. the esports Club has one of the highest viewership counts for a regional pc esports event.
What innovations and diversifications you are doing to stay ahead of the curve in India, which is a highly competitive market?
We are always looking ahead, studying games and trends to plan our esports investments and expansion. We’ve been successful in terms of innovating with which games to focus on with different kinds of formats and will continue on that track as we grow.
Esports is emerging as a lucrative career option in India. What should be done to popularize it? to the layman, a career in esports appears to be like the sports that is only for players and coaches; however, that could not be further from the truth. While the esports athletes are stars of the show, hundreds of other jobs exist around the esports ecosystem, very similar to those in the world of sports. From event producers, broadcast teams, umpires and officials, esports requires much of the same type of personnel found in regular sports. In addition to the teams that are deeply involved in creating and broadcasting esports events, an entire ecosystem of content and journalism supports and amplifies their efforts, once again similar to traditional sports. While one can argue, how would any of this be relevant to gamers; the truth is that a deep understanding of gaming and esports would give them a huge advantage over traditional skilled manpower in the space.
One esports event, from single organizer alone has the potential to provide gainful employment to over 40 people ranging in roles from producers, video editors, admins, broadcasters, writers, broadcast talent, observers, writers, graphic designers, social media managers, to name just a few.