Esports take on engineering as star players earn salaries matching those of IITians

Esports athletes draw salaries similar to IIT graduates.

Back in 2009, blockbuster Bollywood flick 3 Idiots portrayed Farhan Qureshi as a photography enthusiast who left engineering at a premier institute to pursue his career where his passion was rooted, despite knowing that it wouldn't fetch him as much money.

Cut to 2024. Bollywood actor and south superstar Madhavan would have changed his dialogue in the film had it been shot today, when the popular hobby of video-gaming doesn't lag behind a coveted career in engineering. Once a niche, competitive video-gaming, now known as esports, is fast turning into a viable career option, fetching a salary as high as that of an IIT graduate.

Pay packages of top esports players are now running into crores with popular video games like Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) expanding its fanbase as well as beaming on Indian television. Not just that, esports have come mainstream with their inclusion in Asian Games and Olympics, too.

Skilled esports players, especially those competing internationally or as part of professional teams, can earn anything between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 30 lakh per year, noted Roby John, co-founder and chief executive of SuperGaming, a game studio.

Top earners can surpass Rs 50 lakh which can go as high as Rs 1 crore adding up sponsorships, endorsements, and tournament prizes, he said.

Compare this with the average pay package of an IIT graduate. According to placement reports, the average annual salary of an IIT graduate ranges from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. But graduates from high-demand fields like computer science or electrical engineering may earn more if hired by multinationals or well-funded startups.

Paycheques: Esports take on IITs

To put this into perspective, the average gross salary offered to graduates from IIT Bombay stood at Rs 16.66 LPA (lakh per annum), and the average salary based on CTC (cost to company) was Rs 21.82 LPA in 2022-2023. The lowest package offered was Rs 5,43,000, according to IIT Bombay's placement report for 2022-23.

As per IIT Palakkad's placement report for 2021-22, the average CTC offered to the batch of 2022 was Rs 13.93 lakh per annum.

"This overlap in salary brackets highlights how esports, once considered a niche hobby, has become a viable and lucrative career, potentially rivaling traditional engineering or technology careers pursued by IIT graduates, " John said.

Earnings from esports

Esports salaries in India vary widely based on several factors, including the player's skill level, team affiliation, game popularity, and tournament success.

Now, a tier-3 player typically earns Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh annually. Their income mainly comes from small-scale tournaments, sponsorships, and content creation. A tier 2 player can expect between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh a year. Their income sources include larger tournaments, sponsorships, content creation, and occasionally team salaries.

A pro or skilled athlete's annual earnings can exceed Rs 1 crore with income coming from high-profile tournaments, sponsorships, content creation, streaming, and merchandise sales.

Like computer science or electrical engineers, in esports, it is BGMI athletes who have the higher earning potential.

Spiralling demand

"BGMI players usually earn the most in Indian esports because of the game’s popularity, big prize pools, and strong brand sponsorships. Top BGMI players can earn between Rs 2.5 lakh and 4 lakh a month," said Rahul who is known as Ayogi in the esports space. He manages esports team iQOOSouL.

After its ban in India, BGMI, which was relaunched in May 2023, garnered the top rank in app store downloads in the country with around 100 million cumulative players. Some of the top BGMI players are Tanmay Singh (in-game name Scout) and Parv Singh (Regaltos).

Other than BGMI, games like Valorant, FIFA, and Pokémon UNITE also have well-established ecosystems in the country, said Rahul. "SKRossi (actual name Ganesh Gangadhar) is one of the top players in Valorant, while Charanjot is a household name in FIFA (who competed in 2023 Asian Games)," he added.

Valorant athletes also draw monthly salaries of Rs 3-4 lakh with top players like SKRossi getting paid Rs 7-8 lakh a month.

With multiplayer games making a comeback, prominent esports titles almost doubled to 19 in 2023, with 1.8 million Indians participating, and which were available across 20 platforms, according to an FICCI-EY 2024 report.

Driving income

The earnings of esports players have increased significantly over the past 1-2 years, pointed out Rahul. On average, salaries have grown by about 50-100 percent due to more tournaments with big prize pools, rising popularity, higher viewership, and better sponsorship deals.

Major esports tournaments have seen a significant boost in prize pools. The prize pool of 2024 BGIS (Battlegrounds Mobile India Series) that took place last month doubled to Rs 2 crore in the last one year. Prize pool for Krafton's BMPS 2024 was also Rs 2 crore, while Nodwin Gaming's BGMS (BGMI Master Series) 2024 offered a prize pool of Rs 1 crore.

In addition, the broadcast of BGMS on Star Sports is adding to the rising popularity of esports, higher viewership, increasing prize pools in tournaments and also in attracting more sponsorships, John said.

This year, brands like AMD and Puma teamed up with esports teams. "Revenant Esports teamed up with AMD as the title sponsor and PUMA India joined hands with Orangutan as their official Kit Partner. The increasing interest from brands in sponsoring and partnering with esports organisations and tournaments has also played a crucial role in boosting the earnings for players," he said.

Favourable policies

Favourable government policies are also driving participation in esports with more Indians looking to make a career in esports. India officially recognises esports as a multi-sport event.

The International Olympics Committee (IOC) entered into a 12-year partnership with the National Olympics Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia, announcing that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games will be held in 2025.

Success of some of the esports teams is setting examples for new players. "India secured a bronze medal in DOTA 2 at the Commonwealth Esports Championships and reaching the quarterfinals to secure a fifth-place finish in League of Legends at the Asian Games against the top teams is a noteworthy achievement," John said.

He also highlighted that talent in esports is not restricted to metros. "While major Indian cities have traditionally been hotspots for esports talent, there is a growing trend of players emerging from smaller cities and towns. Notable examples include Harman Mavi (in-game name Mavi) from Sangrur, Punjab; Abhirup Paul Choudhury (Lightningfast) from Silchar, Assam; and Hariraman (PVS Gaming) from Vizhuppuram, Tamil Nadu. Each one of them has gone on to compete in top-tier international esports tournaments," John said.

Game streaming, a key source of revenue, is also finding more traction in smaller cities. Game streamers saw an increase in viewership of 20 percent to 25 percent, particularly in tier-II cities, the report said.