The Indian esports scene has been witnessing rapid growth since 2019. The first kick to the rise was PUBG Mobile India Series (PMIS) 2019 when Team Soul lifted the trophy. A whole new ecosystem has been created since then with a large number of organizations moving to correspond to the area and exploring the opportunities. In an exclusive discussion with GamingonPhone during MSummit Manila, Bigetron CEO Edwin Chia expressed his interest in entering India’s mobile esports scene and shared his view on the growing market.
“We need to consider a few factors before going in”, Bigetron CEO on entering India’s mobile esports
A few things kept him apart from the decision. The team has a few contacts from the Indian BGMI scene who contacted it to open up partnership opportunities. And, the result seems very positive as Bigetron Alpha also considered the same to enter into the Indian mobile esports scene.
But before moving to the BGMI scene, there are a few things to consider for the organization like roster salaries, Bootcamp facility, devices, etc. The organization’s willingness to enter India is also affected by a few other factors like the government’s rule on the apps.
Previous experiences tell us that the Indian government had banned PUBG Mobile along with a few other apps. Free Fire and the popular MOBA title Mobile Legends are also not operating in the country. Thus, the players with much potential and a huge market for the mobile esports scene are missing the investment as well as international recognition.
Return on Investment (ROI), the Govt’s rules are the primary factors that keep overseas organizations away
So, the organization is not likely to take the risk of acquiring any roster here because of the ROI (Return on Investment) factor. Edwin Chia, the founder and CEO of Bigetron Esports said, “It is a good market and we understand that. We have a few contacts over there giving us information on the market.”
The government’s often changing nature with mobile apps is one of the primary reasons for organizations not stepping into the market. Thus, the country is still going on with the in-house organizations which are very popular among the fans. But the future is promising as several sponsors are coming over. A recent example is iQOO’s partnership with Team SouL.
A few international organizations came before, but the experience was not pleasing at all
The scenario is almost the same with other organizations. Not a widespread number of overseas organizations are interested in investing in the mobile gaming scene in India. Despite being a massive market for mobile gaming and esports, the government policy with the apps and games due to political tensions and other issues are not mobile esports friendly.
Even if the Indian government pulled off a ban over a few titles, the intermediate time between the game’s urban and the organizations that invested in the esports caused massive damage. Thus, the organizations are left with no other choice than to leave the scene.
The prime example of this is Fnatic. XSpark was acquired by the world’s one of the most renowned esports organizations Fnatic. The hype was surreal and witnessing a major organization collab with an Indian mobile esports team was a dream coming true. But, following the ban over the game, the organization shut down its operation.
However, it expressed to come back to the BGMI scene when it senses an “appropriate time“. The same goes for Team SoloMid (TSM). The organization came into the BGMI scene by joining hands with Entity Gaming in 2020. Later, the organization parted away with Entity.
There is a vice-versa as well. Indian organizations are operating in other countries and having success. Stalwart Esports is operating in Mongolia and is considered one of the best PUBG Mobile teams around the world.
What are your thoughts on Bigetron Esports CEO commenting on entering India’s mobile esports scene? Let us know in the comments below!
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