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India is the fastest growing gaming market with a massive gamer base of more than 600 million (18 per cent of the total gamers globally) | Photo Credit: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Reliance Industries’ RISE Worldwide Limited has formed a joint venture (JV) with European-based esports entertainment company BLAST Esports Limited on Wednesday to conduct esports business in India.
The partnership will bring together BLAST’s esports media production expertise, publisher relationships, wide suite of IPs and Jio’s technology expertise, distribution reach, and local relationships to host these events on the JioGames platform. The JV will cater esports services to publishers and sponsors, end-to-end tournament management, targeted marketing, production and broadcasting.
RISE described India as the fastest growing gaming market with an approximately 600 million gamer base (18 per cent of total global gamers) with a projected CAGR of around 19 per cent to reach $9.2 billion by 2029 from $3.8 billion in 2024. The global esports market is expected to grow to $16.7 billion by 2033 from $2.8 billion in 2024, exhibiting a CAGR of around 22 per cent. India esports market is in nascent stages and is expected to be a high growth market. The Government of India has officially recognised esports in the country by declaring it as a part of the “multi-sports event” category.
BLAST is one of the biggest tournament organisers in the world, as per a press release. It currently works with game publishers such as Epic Games, Valve, Riot Games, KRAFTON and Ubisoft to produce, market and deliver esports for popular titles in Rocket League, Fortnite, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 - with all titles having a combined active monthly player base of 350+ million.
Robbie Douek, CEO for BLAST, said, “India is one of the most exciting and fastest-growing gaming markets in the world, with a rapidly expanding esports audience. By partnering with Reliance, a market leader with unparalleled expertise and reach in India, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the local esports scene to new heights. This joint venture will not only help grow the Indian esports ecosystem but also create new pathways for local talent to shine on the global stage.”
Devang Bhimjyani, Head of Reliance Sports, said, “With this JV, Reliance will extend its interest in sports into esports and leverage RISE’s ability to market and promote sporting events and teams, along with Jio providing its distribution and technology expertise.”
Published on April 2, 2025
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