BGMI Esports Crosses 930M Views Amid Indian Esports Market Growth

KRAFTON India noted that its Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) esports ecosystem generated 930M+ views in 2025, rising from 308.56M in 2024. The publisher used the figures to make a broader case for esports as a scaled media and sponsorship platform in India. The figures were released on April 17, 2026, alongside updated data for the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGIS) 2026.

The company stated its esports properties also produced 984M YouTube impressions and reached 86.78M unique viewers in 2025. It attributed the increase to expanded structured investment, tournament formats, and stronger community engagement.

KRAFTON India also pointed to India’s wider gaming market, citing over 500M mobile gamers. It further pointed to India’s population, where 65% are under 35, along with some of the lowest mobile data costs globally.

BGIS 2026 Viewership Adds Momentum to BGMI Esports Growth

The publisher also released early numbers for the BGIS 2026, its flagship competition.

According to the company, the fifth edition of BGIS delivered the following results:

• Reached 600K peak concurrent viewers on YouTube.
• Recorded 360M+ total views.
• Generated 420M+ impressions.
• Delivered about 20M watch hours.

KRAFTON India said those results made BGIS 2026 the most-watched mobile esports event in the country. The company also pointed to growing advertiser participation, naming Realme, Monster Energy, iQOO, Hero MotoCorp, KIA, and Swiggy as brands associated with the ecosystem.

KRAFTON India mentioned that it has committed INR 20+ crore in prize money across BMPS, BGIS, BMIC, and BMSD since 2023. The BGIS 2026 prize pool was raised to INR 4 crore, while BMIC brought teams from South Korea and Japan to compete in India for the first time.

Grassroots Expansion Signals Wider Growth in Indian Esports

Beyond top-tier tournaments, the company said its Campus Tour has reached 130+ colleges. It also added the Rising Star program, and the KRAFTON India Awards aim to support talent development and industry recognition.

The latest figures suggest publishers are increasingly treating Indian esports as both a competitive ecosystem and a mainstream audience business. That trend is also visible in newer entries such as Honor of Kings (HOK), which launched in India on March 11, 2026, and followed with its first official KINGS' Arise: India City Tour.

It is also reflected in FAU-G: Domination, which held the FAU-G Bharat League 2.0 Finals as its first LAN event in April 2026. One of India’s most popular mobile titles, Free Fire MAX (FFM), has also returned to large-scale official competition through FFMIC 2026 Spring.