India's gaming market is projected to be valued at $7 billion by 2026, more than three times the sector's current value, on the back of a growing user base that is also shelling out more on in-app purchases, according to research firm Redseer.
Gamers in the South Asian country are benefitting from a rapidly-evolving ecosystem. Helped by rising smartphone and internet penetration and the world’s lowest data tariff, users across India are maturing in the way they play different genres, casual, mid-core and paid games.
The country with a population of about 1.38 billion has around 500 million digitally-native users.
"India’s gaming ecosystem is transforming at a fast pace as gaming is gaining popularity as a medium of recreation. Today, India’s gaming market is at a once in a generation inflection point exceeding previous estimates on sophistications, scale, growth and propensity to pay. The market is maturing both from a demand and supply perspective," Redseer said in its report.
The global mobile gaming market is emerging to be an increasingly lucrative segment and was one of the sectors that benefitted from the Covid-19 pandemic that forced people to stay indoors and consume more content on their mobile devices.
Mobile gameplay posted a sharp increase since the pandemic began, with 63 per cent of respondents reporting an increase in gameplay time, especially in countries hit hard by Covid-19, according to a survey by the International Data Corporation.
The mobile segment accounts for a significant share of the overall gaming software industry. The market for global mobile gaming content was valued at $121.1bn and is expected to grow 40 per cent to hit $169.7bn by 2025, data from Statista showed. Asia generates the most revenues in the segment.
Real-money games are the largest source of revenue for India's gaming market, accounting for 53 per cent. In-app purchases are second (31 per cent), followed by advertisements (11 per cent). Compound annual growth rates for the first three verticals are as much as 30 per cent, 40 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, from 2021 to 2026.
The rise in casual and hyper-casual gaming – segments that are simple and have minimalistic interfaces that do not necessarily require being competitive – are the categories that will be driving this growth.
India’s gaming market is at a once in a generation inflection point exceeding previous estimates on sophistications, scale, growth and propensity to pay. The market is maturing both from a demand and supply perspective
Redseer
India's gaming market, which currently has 80 million paid gamers, is projected to surge almost 194 per cent to 235 million by 2025. In-app purchases – extra content or subscriptions bought within an application that costs real money – are pegged to grow at 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
The growth in India's paying users has also made it the one of the world's fastest-growing markets, Redseer's report said. Growth in new paying users is at 50 per cent; at present, only around 20 per cent of users pay for games.
An average Indian gamer spends $16 a year on gaming and it takes around a week to start paying to play games, it added.
"With the rise of online gaming, more so post-Covid, newer games and genres have appeared in the business. Driven by a healthy diversity of monetisation mechanics, India-first content and increasing propensity to pay, the gaming market matures and evolves to the next level, making it an exciting space to watch," Redseer said.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Scoreline
Arsenal 3
Aubameyang (28'), Welbeck (38', 81')
Red cards: El Neny (90' 3)
Southampton 2
Long (17'), Austin (73')
Red cards: Stephens (90' 2)
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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