Women gamers & streamers changing gaming landscape in India: Are advertisers taking note?

The gaming industry in India has seen tremendous growth over the last two years with the increasing digital penetration and internet usage. The in-gaming advertisements in India are very few and largely driven by male influencers. Gaming was largely perceived as a male-dominated space until sometime ago. Now, women are carving a niche for themselves in the online gaming space as gamers, streamers, game developers or entrepreneurs.

When it comes to in-gaming advertisements, it is still a male-dominated turf. A recent report by Consultancy firm Ernst & Young says that the Indian domestic market for online gaming is estimated to reach $2 billion in 2023, representing a CAGR of nearly 22 percent. The report predicts online gamers in India are estimated to grow from 360 million in 2020 to 510 million in 2022.

According to the ‘Think with Google APAC – Play like a Girl Report, 2020’, nearly 18% of all gamers in India are women and their number is increasing at a faster rate than male gamers. Women roughly account for ⅕th of this community.

 “Very few women streamers in India have got brand collaborations but male influencers are plenty. Most plum assignments go to male streamers only despite our popularity on gaming platforms and good fan following on social media,” a popular women streamer said, requesting anonymity.

Not only streamers, even women gamers feel that brands are not marketing enough to them even as women’s gaming sessions are longer than men and they shop more on online platforms and apps compared to their male counterparts. This creates a big marketing gap and Indian brands can rise up to the occasion.

Several D2C companies such as Amazon Prime video, Paytm, Mx Takatak, Netflix and Coin DCX have taken the gaming route to promote themselves on the highly engaging gaming platform.

Sanjana Bhattacharya aka ‘iamBLACKHORSE’ says, “I hardly get any in-game advertising opportunities. Once, I got body shamed and also got compared to another woman while getting a deal. Apart from that, when major competitions happen, I only see male creators being favored.” “However, times are changing. I see more and more organizations and brands now are eager to work with women and make them their brand ambassadors,” Bhattacharya added.

Aparna Shukla aka ‘Rogstream’, says biases against women are very common in Indian society and gaming industry is not an exception. “Gender stereotypes trigger biases that perpetuate discriminatory mindsets and behaviours. To mitigate such biases, we will have to encourage more and more participation of women in gaming.”

Radhe Joiser aka ‘Little Drunk Girl’ says, “The pandemic has played a prominent role in the growth of female streamers. Soon we will also see female streamers achieving new heights.” 

Rahul Vengalil, Managing Partner, Isobar, a dentsu group company, says, “In-game advertising is still in its infancy in terms of the enormous market. Very few brands are advertising on gaming platforms as of now. Perhaps that's why the gender gap looks large.”

Scenario is changing: Brands & Advertisers

The popularity of female streamers is helping to change the stereotypes that are often attached with female gamers, stakeholders say.

Gaming as an industry continues to expand its relevance and presence in the country, streaming is all the rage, and is pulling in extraordinary numbers, says Aparna Tadikonda, Executive Vice President (South), Interactive Avenues.

Tadikonda further said, “Five years ago, it was unimaginable for women to look at online gaming as a career option. But today the space offers a bright future for women from all walks of life. With more visibility online and an army of followers backing them up, women are not only claiming the ecosystem but also shaping it to become more forthcoming, gender-neutral, and sensitive.”

“Women gaming artists are working closely with the product and the data teams so we need to normalize this trend as is in other industries and not be taken by surprise because it has been a male-dominated industry,” she added.

Hufriya Tara, Associate Vice President of Lowe Lintas, admits that the portrait of a gamer is still riddled with the stereotypical image of a nerdy teenager in his dark bedroom playing PUBG. “However, gamers like Payal Dhare and Shagufta Iqbal aka Xyaa are professional streamers with a massive following across social media and gaming platforms. They work as influencers for big brands like HP, Logitech while creating gaming content for companies like Nvidia. Having said that, the PC Gaming industry is still a male dominated industry, but it is evolving and with that the opportunities will also broaden,” Tara noted. 

Are women streamers getting equal remuneration? Tara said, “There is no denying that there is a heavier need for the policy framework to cater to the needs of women gamers. Remuneration also largely works on the views per stream which should help in bridging the pay gap.”

Arnold Su, Business Head, Consumer & Gaming PC, System Business Group, Asus India, says, “While the gaming industry has been dominated by male players for a long time, female gamers have also seen a significant rise and have plenty of brand prospects as well.”

Su admits though that women gaming influencers get fewer opportunities than men. “According to top data aggregators, women account for about 40% of the gaming population. While there is a difference in preferences for titles and content types, as well as consumption techniques, the number of female gamers is steadily increasing. In fact, because the quantity of female influencers in the game industry is comparatively lower than that of male influencers, there are more opportunities per influencer.”

He asserts that ASUS is constantly working towards empowering female gamers.

“Last year, we conducted a campaign with two popular Valorant streamers and professional players, Sway and Meow16k, in which they competed in a ROG mystery challenge against other elite players. We have come up with a first of its kind – #WomenInEsports – an all-Women ROG Showdown online tournament on Valorant, ahead of International Women’s Day,” he further added.

Piyush Kumar, Founder & CEO, Rooter, a gaming and esports community, says, “The revenue coming from game streaming in India would be around USD 300-400 million. Women gamers and streamers are making their way to the bigger picture.”

“As a leading game streaming platform, we strongly believe in diversity and inclusivity and firmly understand the need for a gender agnostic approach. In fact, we host prime girls streaming events almost every weekend, exclusively for female gamers. Lately, they have also introduced a plethora of women-centric stickers and giveaways on the app,” Kumar said. Kumar further added saying that Rooter is planning to hire more than 1000 female gamers in the next three months setting a new benchmark in the gaming universe.