Results from HP India’s Gaming Landscape Study 2023 have indicated that gaming is now considered as one of the leading career choices with increased traction compared to last year. Similar to the previous year, one-third of respondents think of gaming as a potential career.

The two main draws for choosing this path are financial gain and fame. In India’s smaller towns, gaming usage is on the rise as it provides a chance to make a viable living if the player has skills.

Over 3500 participants were chosen from 15 cities across tier 1 and tier 2 zones such as Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Coimbatore, Indore, Vadodara, Chandigarh and Jaipur for this year’s study.

This year, HP India saw over 50% of the gamers considering gaming as a viable option, up from 33% last year. Comparing the platforms, PC gamers seem to be a little more confident about their platform as a career option, with over 55% in agreement. Female gamers accounted for around 25% from the overall group.

A notable reason for preferring PC gaming might be due to the global preference. While India is a mobile gaming dominated market, players wish to make a name for themselves globally which is still a PC-dominated market.

This is due to better graphics, controls, story, discounts and fewer limitations as at the end of the day, players will need a PC for streaming or video editing so they might as well play on it too, they might feel.

However, mobile gaming is also not that far behind, as around 45% of gamers agreeing with mobile gaming being a viable option. Overall, more than 45% of gamers have full-time gaming careers and earn over Rs 6 lakh per year.

For full-time gamers earning under Rs 1 lakh or others between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, there was a drop compared to previous year. It is not clear at the moment if they shifted to a higher income bracket or dropped gaming altogether.

“As India emerges as one of the top three PC gaming countries globally, we are committed to empowering and enabling gamers through constant innovation and cutting-edge tools. This study allows us to develop a deeper understanding of the gaming landscape and provides colour to the passion and aspirations of the gaming community,” said Ipsita Dasgupta, senior VP & managing director at HP India as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Casual gamers in India are defined as those who play 6–11 hours in a week, while serious gamers are considered to be the ones who spend at least 11-23 hours gaming. Anything above this is usually regarded as professional gaming.