Gaming in India: Being a woman in a largely male world

Kaashvi Hiranandani gave up a career in finance to taking up gaming.

There’s an occupational hazard of a different kind that Tania has to deal with. As a female gamer, streamer and caster, she’s now quite familiar with the caustic barbs that have been directed at her on a number of occasions.

“You are objectified, treated like beauty with no brains. Or you are told - jaa ke bartan dho, katka kar (go wash utensils or do some cleaning). They are not always pleased to have me there and it can get quite toxic, calling out names or passing comments - aye sexy, come here baby, marry me,” she says.

A few years ago, Tania would even refrain from revealing her identity online, often logging in through her husband’s account as his “younger brother”.

“The mentality hasn’t changed, but as they say, ignorance is bliss,” she adds.

That, however, hasn’t stopped women like Tania from claiming their rightful place among the men. And today, they’ve gone on to build successful careers in the world of online gaming alongside the men.

Starting young

It’s an old notion that boys run around playing with cars and guns, while girls are mostly found cuddling dolls or organising mini kitchen sets. But while growing up, Kaashvi Hiranandani was right there alongside her brother, battling for bragging rights on the video game console.

“The second controller was always handed to me and in case it was a one-player game, I was always the spectator. It was all very competitive and to beat him, I started practising more. That’s how it all started,” Kaashvi says.

On finishing her education in Singapore, a career in finance beckoned. However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced her to return home to Mumbai. She started gaming and once things got better, even got another job in finance. But the career goals were set aside once she found stability in the gaming space.

She soon realised that the money was good. Revenue came in through various streaming platforms, based on the traffic she generated. There were also donations made by viewers during live streams through Super Chats. Kaashvi was soon signed on by an agency that landed her brand deals - everything from lifestyle to skincare, besides of course, gaming.

“One can certainly make more money in gaming than what a fresh graduate would make in finance,” she says.

Tania says female gamers are sometimes subjected to sexist remarks.

Planning and preparation

According to Tania, a beginner can earn anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 after a year. But in a few years, sky’s the limit, given the expanse of the gaming world.

That, however, takes careful planning and a whole lot of patience. Payal Dhare would know. After starting out with computer games at home, she took to mobile gaming as a medium to engage with friends while in college.

“Once we started playing online events, there was this cool element to our team since there was a girl on it. At the same time, they would ask me if I knew how to play. You do get a little bit of hate. But one look at my KD (Kill Death Ratio) would tell them that I did play a lot,” she says.

Back home, her mother would constantly badger her to get off the phone. Yet, besides gaming, Payal also started exploring the kind of content that could be produced and chalking out a plan on how she could engage the Indian audience to generate healthy traffic on her stream.

“It’s not just about playing online and being in your own world while a hundred people watch you. The idea is to connect with them - ask how their day was or whether they enjoyed the content,” Payal says.

“If you can engage the audience, they will love to watch you,” she adds.

Payal Dhare took up mobile gaming in college, to engage with friends.

The big gamble

Soon, Payal had a chat with her family. She was clear that gaming was going to get big in the time ahead. Through the prize money that she had gathered while playing small tournaments, she first went about upgrading gear. She then took a loan from her father and bought a personal computer.

In 2021, Payal moved 30km from her home in Umranala to Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh where the Internet was more stable and rented a place. During the first month, she struggled with organising her affairs - everything from learning how to set up a livestream to cooking meals and cleaning. In between, she would dedicate time to studies.

“I realised it was working out when I noticed that my growth was fast and consistent. I had 100k subscribers in about three weeks of starting a YouTube channel. Last year, I gifted my parents a car and I am currently building a home for them, all through my earnings,” she says.

Krutika Ojha too started streaming quite by chance, spending many hours gaming while pursuing computer science in Nagpur. Each time she faced stereotypes associated with being a woman, she showed her detractors how it’s done.

“There was a tournament when they thought I was a hacker and lodged a complaint with the organiser. It was only after I showed them a video recording of my gameplay that they realised a girl could also play well,” Krutika says.

“I’m a bit competitive and it’s a delight to nail those crisp headshots, especially against folks who believe they are a little cool. There are ego issues with some guys, but a few do appreciate my abilities eventually,” she adds.

Instead of sitting for campus placements, Krutika decided to focus on gaming, much to her father’s dismay.

“My father is an engineer and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps. The early days were tough, but once I gained recognition and started earning well, he was fine with it,” Krutika says.

Krutika Ojha started streaming quite by chance.

The support from home has been vital for others as well. Each time Kaashvi takes to streaming, one follower who’s always logged in is her mother. Tania too has her husband by her side at various events, often sacrificing his weekends for her. Others like Archana Shukla admit that she only took to serious gaming because of her family.

“There was some confusion in quitting a conventional career because few were aware of this world in Kanpur. It was only once my parents got me a computer and my brother encouraged me to play every day that I first took it up. I soon realised what was possible through gaming,” Archana says.

New ground

According to a KPMG report, there were 433 million users in the Indian online gaming market that generated a revenue of INR 136 billion in the financial year 2021. Their projection for 2025 is 657 million users and a revenue of INR 290 billion.

The rise in numbers has reflected on platforms like Asian esports fantasy platform FanClash, which has over three million users and 25 daily tournaments. Co-founder Richa Singh noticed the rapidly expanding gaming landscape, and alongside Rishabh Bhansali, handed gamers the opportunity to monetise their knowledge in 2020.

“What used to be considered a hobby is now recognised as a sport, with events like the Asian Games featuring esports as a medal event. But despite significant expansion, there was a lack of organised data, which we looked to address. Our platform has seen a steady increase in female participation, though most of it is still predominantly male,” she says.

Richa Singh is co-founder of gaming platform FanClash.

Richa started gaming as late as 2019. When she entered this space as an entrepreneur, women were mostly hired as game designers or artists, with little influence on any aspect of the industry.

“I have faced gender-related stereotypes and biases multiple times - assumptions that women lack knowledge or competence in the gaming industry, or the drive to succeed in leadership roles. So, when I approached investors, I made sure to emphasise the importance of having a diverse team with different perspectives and experiences, including women,” Richa says.

“Even though it is a work in progress, it is extremely encouraging to see women break age-old stereotypes and beliefs by cementing their prominence in this sector,” she adds.

Of her own accord, Tania says she has helped other women with gaming tips and opportunities to pursue casting. She’s even supported a few financially, which has backfired at times, but she wants to continue assisting those who want to make a career in gaming. At the heart of it, she wants to grow the community until women are accepted as equal players.

“The mentality certainly needs to change in the Indian gaming space,” Tania says.