Indian women are breaking stereotypes in gaming industry in the country

Indian women are breaking stereotypes with these new statistics provided by the Lumikai gaming report. According to the information, pan India survey conducted earlier revealed 41% of the gamers are women in the country. Out of 2,317 respondents, 50% of the gamers fall under the age of 18-30 years with a male to female ratio of 60:40. The data was announced at the 15th edition of India Game Developer conference that lasted for three days. ‘The conference on November 2 saw more than 2000 attendees, with over 200 speakers and 125 hyperactive sessions at the South Asia’s biggest and most significant developer conference. There were also special sessions by conference partners, including unreal developer day, Xbox discovery day, Unity Dev and Google Dev’, reported by The Hindu.
Indian market is seeing rapid growth in gaming and technology from last few years. Chairman of India Game Developer Conference, Rajesh Rao quoted by The Hindu, ‘This edition of the IGDC has attracted participation from 125+ top gaming firms, all at the cutting edge of the industry’s growth. Gaming startups have now matured to invest heavily in brand building, and big names are now endorsing their apps. YouTube channels linked to game reviews and tutorials are getting record views.’
Hansika Garg works in a gaming industry and is not surprised with the numbers this industry is generating. She said, ‘I joined few years ago. Honestly, I was a little taken aback with the gender participation this industry holds. I came here with an assumption of it being men dominating industry, but it is actually not the fact. There are lot of women around, handling some great projects, engaging in multiple dialogues concerning the industry on public spheres, or running gaming startups that are just emerging as the boss.’ She states reasons of growth in gaming industry. ‘I believe, gaming industry is really booming not just in India but worldwide. The audience it has mainly belongs to young generation and since India is one of the countries with large population coming from the same background, it is not surprising. Also, since Digital India has been launched and is getting promoted by government in full swing, people are shifting to digital platforms and domains for several things. Gaming startups are one of them. You see Dream11 or HashCube, 99Games or Games2win, with the narrative of startups hub and introduction of Digitization in the country, these factors are contributing in escalating numbers in this industry’, she said.
How women are changing the narrative of gaming industry in terms of gender in India, where gender inequality has been a matter of debate for years, is what needs to be known. According to Hansika, it is the Indian parents whose contribution cannot be missed along with innovative and tech-savvy mind of youngsters. She told EAT news, ‘Definitely women are overtaking here, which is little not acceptable for many because in India we see either girl choose to become doctor, engineers, teacher, a very academic field. But pursuing gaming as a career and emerging as country’s top gamers is different, unusual but commendable. They are opening path for coming generation to not stick to monopoly and pursue what excites you rather than outlined career. Often, we associate games with boys or kids, but today girls are making living out of it and very smoothly balancing everything else out.’ Furthermore, she added, ‘But the biggest stigma that was around Indian parents of being strict and conservative concerning the career choosing has been seen a drastic change. Parents are being supportive now with the sense of understanding and trust.’
The IDGC this year had round table, workshops, talks and sessions over AI, art and design, technology, production, business, Web3, product management, career opportunities, emerging trends and applied games covering game for good. ‘Gaming industry is not only about holding a joystick and sitting in front of screen for hours. There is lot of work at takes place behind the screen. Production, design and graphics, scripting, investment, there is a lot more work behind than what we present in front. And the gaming companies make sure to keep the accessibility easy for everybody without any specific requirements or restrictions until it is a necessity in few cases’, she said. The report also states that 66% of the gamers are from non-metro regions. The popularity of the gaming industry has also raised challenges of obsessive-compulsive disorders among users. However, Hansika shared that providing a disclaimer or other instructions are always taken in account. She said, ‘Yes, there are instances where games are blamed for tragic incidents, I think it depends on gaming companies. Particular designing techniques and other things have to b kept in mind before introducing it to the world. Age restrictions, appropriate language are some of the parameters that should be focused.’
Experts say, India is likely to see major growth in gaming industry and in digital market in upcoming years.