From influencer marketing to gaming to mobile application development and restoration of handlooms, 2016 will bring in a plethora of newage careers that will not only support Government initiatives like Digital India and Make in India but also open up the market for new innovation and better employment
Gaming’s the way to go
Globally, the gaming industry is one of the largest entertainment segments which is $82 billion industry, far bigger than the Hollywood and music industry. India is fast gaining a reputation as a centre of excellence for the gaming industry worldwide and it is one of the fastest growing sectors in the internet technology space today.
As pet the Indian Games Market Review report released by National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), mobile gamers lead the market in India, with a smartphone install base estimated at 200 million by the end of 2015, which is estimated to grow by 100 million each year thereafter. Approximately 40 to 50 million people play games on their smartphones and feature phones, with an annual growth rate of 40 per cent to 50 per cent.
The report further states that 75 per cent of developers are focused on building games for the global gaming market. About 96 per cent of developers work on mobile games, with 61 per cent of those building free-to-play games.
“The trend of playing games have evolved to multiple platforms like computerised gaming, TV gaming, console gaming, app games on tablets and mobile phones and on social media platforms like Facebook etc. And so has the rising demand for developing new game and providing gaming services.
“From gaming being just as an entertainment means to making a full-fledge career is a revolutionary change in India with more than 100 game developer studios that have popped up in past two years and is expected to rise by 2020,” Manvendra Shukul, CEO, lakshya Digital, tells you.
Gamers turned makers
Gamer lovers are now taking up developing games in a big way in India. The concept of Make in India aptly fits in this industry which is completely dependent on the manufacturing new gaming products.
“This is what American gaming industry started 40 years back where a lot game lovers turned game developers and brought the innovation. Now it is a multi-million dollar industry there. Apart from the rise in the industry, what’s more important is rise in its commercialisation. Second trend that we'll get to see is that the companies offering game services, especially in the domain of art, they are now recruiting big time,” Shukul says.
Outsourcing services
The outsourcing of game services is becoming really big now and with the rising talent in India in art and technology, the industry is going to be the biggest revenue generator of the country. “The global trend is that, game development has become very expensive. Eight years back, what you could develop in two million dollars, same thing the average development cost would be 15 million dollars now. Nor do the sales have not gone proportionately neither the profit margins of games. But the competition has become very high. One of the ways to reduce the cost is by outsourcing. After China, India is looked upon as the biggest emerging market in the gaming front as there are no communication and management issue and the quality they will get from India is at par,” Shukul says.