Call it a late tech bloom or simply FOMO, but urban Indians are increasingly discovering the joy of strategic gaming like fantasy leagues and online rummy game apps. Major gaming platforms are reporting a surge in engagement from first-time players in metro areas. In fact, India’s online gaming base swelled to 591 million users, with 23 million new gamers added in FY24 alone. A substantial majority of these newcomers hail from big cities.
Data shows that 66% of India’s gamers are from non-metro regions. That means roughly one-third (or around 197 million players) belong to metropolitan hubs. This cohort includes many late adopters who have joined the gaming community recently. Given that metros like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru have had internet access for years, this trend may seem surprising. However, there was clearly an untapped audience in these cities — people who had never tried mobile and online gaming in the 2010s, but are suddenly taking the leap in the 2020s.
From Skeptics to Supporters: The Changing Attitudes of Urban Gamers
What flips the switch for someone who’s lived around 30 or 40 years without mobile games to suddenly become an avid player? Often, it starts with shedding some old misconceptions. Many urban late adopters admit they underestimated modern games, thinking them either too childish, too hard, or a waste of time. With gaming now attaining mainstream status, these perceptions are rapidly changing.
So, what changed these people’s minds? For one, the content of games has diversified to appeal to broader tastes. A retiree might not care for Call of Duty’s shooting frenzy, but might love a calming gardening simulation or digital Scrabble. A finance manager might scoff at cutesy arcade games, but may be totally engrossed in an IPL cricket gaming app or an online chess match.
Many late adopters want something more stimulating than mindless scrolling, and a well-designed strategy or puzzle game turns out to be the perfect fit. The notion that gaming is only about shooting aliens or racing cars is long gone. Now, there are word games, trivia apps, business simulations, and of course classic card games. These changing attitudes reveal an important insight: these late adopters weren’t “out of touch” – they just hadn’t found their game yet.
What’s Driving the Urban Newbie Surge?
The motivations vary, but a few themes keep coming up in research and interviews. Top among these are boredom, peer influence, curiosity, and advertisements or endorsements.
Many new gamers start playing because they are bored and seek a new pastime.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelGaming has emerged as a more interactive antidote to passive screen fatigue. Another big catalyst is social FOMO and peer pressure. Many new gamers start this hobby because someone close to them nudges them into it, like a friend group all playing a multiplayer game or a spouse needing an extra team member.
Curiosity has also contributed to making the non-gamer an avid player today. In metro culture, trends move rapidly, and curiosity drives people to experiment. This interest is further augmented by the power of marketing. Gaming companies are reaching out to urban audiences through ads, influencer tie-ups, and celebrity endorsements, and it’s working.
These factors often work in tandem. For instance, an office worker in Mumbai may be bored during her commute (boredom), see her friends raving about a word puzzle game or a rummy game in the office group chat (peer influence and curiosity), then one day view a targeted ad for those very games (advertising). The next thing you know, she could be searching for that rummy game download link or puzzle app in the Play Store and starting her journey as a gamer.
Strategic Gaming: The New Favorite of Late Adopters
Interestingly, many of these first-time urban gamers aren’t gravitating to just any games – a good number prefer strategic, skill-based games over pure mindless entertainment. After all, these are people who resisted gaming until now because they found other activities more meaningful. So when they do pick up gaming, they tend to seek out experiences that are mentally stimulating or socially rewarding, not just pretty graphics.
Classic strategy and skill games have especially benefited. Take Indian rummy, for example. It’s a centuries-old card game of strategy, mathematics, and psychology – something that older adults or professionals might appreciate more than, say, simply matching similar shapes or gems.
Online rummy platforms have indeed seen robust growth and engagement from new users. RummyTime, for instance, is one leading platform that now boasts over 1.7 crore (17 million) registered users on its app. Other similar strategy games boast comparable numbers, and a significant number of these users come from urban areas, where rummy has a strong cultural familiarity.