BGMI maker Krafton India seeks support measures to promote online gaming

Krafton India, maker of popular online game BGMI, on Thursday called for government support measures to promote the online gaming industry in the country.

Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn highlighted subsidies given to gaming companies to cover labor costs by countries like the UAE and Canada and said innovative ways can be found to promote the industry in the country.

“The data actually shows how governments around the world view the gaming sector as one of the future growth engines for job creation…we all know that India needs more tax revenue to develop the country, but at the same time, I hope the India government can find creative ways to promote the industry,” he said at a CII event on digital gaming here.

The GST Council has imposed a tax of 28 percent on the total face value of bets placed on online gaming, which will be implemented from October 1, with a review of the levy six months after its implementation .

Low-cost internet and mobile penetration in India will grow gaming in India and create opportunities for gaming companies, Sean said, highlighting the “unique advantage” Indian gamers have of being mobile, unlike their Western counterparts who have moved to smartphone gaming from consoles and personal computers. and arcade games.

“Indian gamers now number 500 million, with real gamers around 100 million, which is not as big as China or South Korea, but given how cheap the Internet is mobile and the wide penetration of smartphones, I think the number of gamers will increase. increase very quickly and… open up more opportunities for gaming companies like us,” he said.

He said the Indian market is “quite large” for top games like BGMI and “highly skewed” for top players compared to other gaming markets. However, the diversification and evolution of the gaming industry will lead to the arrival of more players, he estimated.

The Krafton India CEO also spoke about the company’s investment in Gurugram-based Nodwin Gaming, saying that “90% of Nodwin’s revenue comes from mobile eSports gaming events.”

He said the video game industry has grown from a small industry in the entertainment market to “about 80% of the film and video game industry combined.”

Prosenjit Ghosh, country manager of SONY India’s PlayStation division, said gaming is becoming a type of mainstream entertainment, “almost on par with other mainstream entertainment in India like cricket or movies “.