Why Skill-Based Games Are Rising In Popularity In India

The gaming industry is seeing a huge transition with increased connectivity, a greater need for social interaction, and the growing youth of the country who loves to play. Amongst many online games in India, it is worth mentioning that skill-based games are leading the way. Before diving deep into skill-based games to dig into the reason behind their popularity, it is essentially important to first classify them.

What are Skill-based Games?

Skill-based games are the game in which the outcome is primarily dependent on the skills of the player instead of sheer luck and does not include games of mere skills, chance, and lotteries.

Just a quick overview of the gaming industry of India tells that it is divided into the offline gaming industry and online gaming industry, and in both sectors, skill-based games, especially card games are blooming. From 6 million users in F.Y 13-4, the number of card game players has increased to 20.69 million. One of the most popular card games which have remained popular throughout history is Solitaire which tests the real strategic skills of the players.

Demographics of Players in India

Let us now have a look at the demographic overview of the skill-based gamers to finally identify why skill-based games like solitaire are rising in popularity in India. Most of the Indian skill gamers belong to the age group of 20-44 and this genre of the game is mostly played by the South Indian. Most skill-based gamers prefer to play games on their mobile phones. 36% of the players are post-graduate (general) whereas 39% of the players are post-graduate (professional).

In short, skill-based games are preferred by people with a high level of qualification in India which isn't surprising! 44% of these users are self-employed and 34% of them work as junior to middle management executives. The game is dominant among the people who are married and have children, followed by people with a single status. Gamers engage in skill-based games primarily for two reasons- human connection and for relieving stress, about which we will talk in detail now.

Contributing Reasons for Surge in Popularity

Five primary reasons are identified that have contributed to the upsurge of the skill-based game in India.

1. Firstly, it is because of gainful entertainment because of which the players see playing a skill-based game as a nice way of spending their free time.
2. The second factor is they use these games for social interaction and virtual social interaction has become a lot more popular because of COVID and people have been connecting with new people in such innovative ways.
3. The third reason why players engage in skill-based games is to relieve stress. As we have seen, most of the players of skill-based games are highly educated and are in good professions, a hectic life becomes inevitable which ultimately leads to stress. Playing a skill-based game is an innovative way to relieve stress in a quick manner because the players always have the option of engaging in a simple game of Solitaire, Sudoku, and Freecell, which are all skill-based games and are available online and therefore comes with the freedom to play anywhere and anytime.
4. The fourth reason for the rising popularity of skill-based games includes the thrill of winning and competitiveness that it provides the users after playing the games. Statistically speaking, 20% of the gamers play a skill-based game as gainful entertainment, a surprising 36% of the players want to create new connections while playing such game, 34% of the players engage in such games to relieve their stress and 10% of the players want to experience the thrill of winning the game.
5. Last and not least, skill-based games do not depend on luck but on the skills of the player which means that if a player wins a game, they win because they actually deserve to win the game without the role of any luck in it and therefore can claim the win without compromising which also, increases the self-confidence of the player and push them to master the game. Not to forget, these skill-based games also play a crucial role in life-building skills too!

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)