More brands entering gaming space, FY26 will be a 'growth year', says S8UL's Animesh Agarwal

Animesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO of 8Bit Creatives, India’s leading esports consulting.

S8UL, the home for one of India's top esports teams and a hub for gaming content, is expecting to close FY25 with 250 brand partners, up from 200 a year ago,  co-founder Animesh Agarwal has said.

As more advertisers tap into the growing gaming market, the former professional gamer expects the new financial year to be even better.

Every year the number of brands entering the gaming space is going up by 15-20 percent, Agarwal told Moneycontrol in an interview. "This year the gaming endorsement industry will be in the range of $20-25 million," he said.

Agarwal pointed to the deal S8UL signed with Monster Energy in January, saying it is one of its kind. "There are maybe only five to six teams around the globe that have struck such deals," he said.

iQOO SOUL, the Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) division of S8UL, joined forces with Monster Energy as its official Energy Drink Partner, the first Indian team to partner with a global brand.

The Indian gaming industry generated revenues of $3.8 billion for the financial year 2024, registering a 22.6 percent growth from 3.1 billion in FY23, according to a report by gaming and interactive media venture fund Lumikai. The industry is estimated to cross $9.2 billion by FY29 at a 20 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the next five years.

Sponsorship spike

Sponsorships in gaming start from Rs 50-60 lakh a deal and some brands have spent Rs 2-3 crore for their debut campaigns.

"Brands in the technology category always come with a very good cheque size," he said.

Last year, esports and gaming talent management agency 8Bit Creatives founded by Agarwal secured the largest naming rights sponsorship deal in Indian gaming history with leading smartphone brand iQOO.

"Big non-endemic brands (those promoting products or services on a platform where those products or services are not sold directly) are spending less than 5 percent of their marketing budgets on gaming, while endemic brands are allocating 20-30 percent of their total marketing budgets towards gaming," the pro-ex-gamer said.

Too much cricket and Bollywood’s “lull phase” has shifted focus to digital and influencers and gaming is among the categories to have gained the most.

"The number of non-endemic brands that are getting involved in gaming is increasing," he said.

Betting big on brand deals, Agarwal expects FY26 to be a year of growth. "Every mobile brand now is back with a bang, back with a lot of budgets, wanting to invest fully in gaming," he said.

"2024-25 has been a decent year but definitely the next financial year, we already know that it will be an upward trend because this year, anyone and everyone (brands) that I'm speaking to say they want to invest in gaming and are seeking ideas. Everyone has parked their budgets for gaming," Agarwal said.

The esports division is not a worry, thanks to the growing interest among brands and audiences.

"We are one of the most popular esports teams. So, I'm not really worried about that because the market has shifted. Like, two years back, the esports division was running at massive losses. But right now, I wouldn't say we are making too much profit but somehow we ended up at break-even, but it's still better," he said. Very few teams end up making profits and generally, it's not coming from esports or brands directly. The teams have diversified into merchandising and other revenue streams, he added.

The S8UL esports team, which dominates in BGMI and Pokémon UNITE games, is looking to expand by competing in newer games in 2025 even as the firm makes a bid for the Esports World Cup, which is backed by the Saudi government.

The Esports World Cup last year edition saw over 1,500 players from 200 teams competing for a $60 million (Rs 500 crore) prize pool, attracting a global audience of 500 million viewers —including 10.5 million viewers from India.

Talent monetisation

While a lot is happening at S8UL, Agarwal wants to take it slow when it comes to onboarding new gamers under 8bit Creatives.

"We are a very boutique talent agency and have a roster of around 50 gamers. I don't see the number increasing a lot because it's not easy to monetise every talent in gaming. Maybe another five talents will be on board next year and this year we have signed three," Agarwal said.

He also pointed to income disparity in the gaming space.

"At 8bit, the top 10 gamers make a million dollars a year. In good years, they have made even more and these talents have millions and millions of followers,” Agarwal claimed. The next set of gamers, who have half a million followers, make Rs 25-80 lakh a year. Gamers make money from salary and prize pools.

The life of a gaming influencer is not easy. It is survival of the fittest, he said.

Not every influencer gets brands to work with. They usually have their own YouTube channel or a Facebook page, where they post content and make money from advertising revenue. “If they're live streaming, maybe they're getting donations from their viewers. And talents who are marketable, monetisable, they make money from brands, as well as their YouTube pages," he added.

Scope for improvement

Although a lot has improved for esports and gaming in India, there is room for improvement, especially in bringing international tournaments to the country.

India does not have many international tournaments and “I don't see international tournaments coming to India”, Agarwal said. The tournament segment is growing in India at a slow pace because there are limited games. “BGMI, Call of Duty, CSI and Valorant are the only four games played in India because they are popular," he said.

Prize money is stagnant at around Rs 1.5-2 crore. "I don’t see a million-dollar prize pool. So, I am not happy with the tournament scene in India. We need more games and publishers. India is not placed greatly in terms of performance. Only in FIFA, Call of Duty and Pokeman, we have achieved good results. So in esports, India has a long way to go," he said.