India emerging as multi-game esports market: JioBLAST CEO Charlie Cowdrey

India's esports industry is entering a new phase of expansion, with overseas game publishers expected to launch more titles and invest in local competitive ecosystems as regulatory clarity improves, according to JioBLAST CEO Charlie Cowdrey.

The shift is also transforming the country's competitive gaming landscape, which Cowdrey said is evolving beyond a handful of dominant titles into a broader, multi-game esports market.

"India is becoming a genuinely multi-game esports market," Cowdrey said in an interview. "Where two or three years ago India might have been a one- or two-game esports market, it's now a four-, five-, six-game market. In one to two years, it's going to be a 10-game, 12-game, 15-game market."


His comments come as India's broader gaming market continues to expand. A report released this week by MIXI Global Investments and gaming research firm Naavik estimated that India's gaming industry generated about $1.1 billion in combined in-app purchase (IAP) and advertising revenue in 2025. The report projects the market to reach $1.5 billion in 2026 and $2.4 billion by 2029, with around 600 million active gamers in India in 2025.

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The report also found that while shooter games continue to account for the largest share of revenue, growth is increasingly being driven by genres such as strategy, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), card battlers, geolocation and simulation games, reflecting the broader diversification of India's gaming market.

Cowdrey said that trend is now beginning to reshape esports. "That gives us the opportunity as JioBLAST to diversify, to work with lots of games in the way that suits each game and really tailor our offering to its players, fans and publisher."

JioBLAST, a joint venture between Jio, RISE Worldwide and global esports organiser BLAST, is positioning itself around that broader ecosystem rather than focusing on a single title.

According to Cowdrey, Jio contributes nationwide distribution through its telecom network, RISE Worldwide brings sports marketing and commercial expertise, while BLAST provides experience in organising international esports tournaments and building competitive ecosystems.

JioBLAST recently partnered with the Esports Foundation (EF) to launch India Rising: Road to EWC, a national esports competition and fan festival that will serve as India's pathway to the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026.

The inaugural edition, organised in collaboration with Jio and Chess. com, featured nationwide open chess qualifiers culminating in a LAN final in India, with the winner advancing to the Esports World Cup Chess main event in Riyadh.

The partners plan to expand the platform into a long-term, multi-title esports property, marking what Cowdrey described as a milestone for India's esports ecosystem.

Cowdrey attributed much of the recent momentum to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA), which recognises esports and online social games while prohibiting online money games.

"What has happened is esports and social gaming have been pulled out from the wider gaming category that is sometimes misunderstood as gambling," he said.

"This recognises esports as something positive for society and begins to treat it like a sport, where players apply their talent and expertise to competition in the same way Virat Kohli or Vaibhav Suryavanshi applies it to cricket. These are esports athletes, and they really are athletes."

He said the policy has improved confidence among publishers and tournament organisers.

"You're already starting to see new games coming into the market," Cowdrey said. "You'll see more games. You'll see more investment in ecosystems because there's greater confidence in the regulatory environment."

Cowdrey said JioBLAST also plans to leverage Jio's nationwide reach to expand grassroots participation by enabling players from across India to compete through online qualifiers.

"With esports, the qualifiers at the start can, in theory, be infinitely large, and people can compete from anywhere in the country," he said, adding that the company wants to "democratise access" to competitive gaming.

On monetisation, Cowdrey said esports does not follow a single commercial model. "The key is tailoring our commercial model and the ecosystem we build to each game," he said.

He added that JioBLAST's investment in India is intended to be long term rather than driven by short-term returns. "This is a long-term commitment from Jio and BLAST. It isn't about trying to get it all done in the first year or the first two years."

Looking ahead, Cowdrey said the company plans to deepen partnerships with more game publishers as India's esports market expands. "We have more partnerships coming, and that's the focus for sure."

Separately, the Government of Maharashtra and JioBLAST signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore long-term collaboration across gaming, esports, digital innovation, youth engagement, skill development and the broader digital economy in the state.

"India has one of the world's largest gaming communities, and Maharashtra has the talent, infrastructure and entrepreneurial ecosystem to play a leading role in its next phase of growth," Cowdrey said.