CarryMinati Becomes A Stakeholder In Big Bang Esports Ahead Of Debut Of Asia Open Esports Championship

India, 3rd February 2023- Asia’s #1 YouTuber and leading gaming influencer, Ajey Nagar who goes by the moniker CarryMinati and his long-time business partner, Deepak Char are now onboarded as equity partners in Big Bang Esports Pvt. Ltd., e-sports division of the multi-hyphenate entertainment ecosystem Big Bang Media Ventures. The duo will now join film producer Madhu Mantena and former senior banker and entrepreneur Ravneet Gill to jointly build and establish Asia Open Esports Championship’s brand presence in the global e-sports eco-sphere.

In December of 2022, International Esports Federation (IESF) announced its strategic partnership with Madhu Mantena and Ravneet Gill-owned Big Bang Esports Pvt. Ltd. (BBEPL) to launch the inaugural Asia Open Esports Championship (Asia Open).

The championship, which will be conducted from 16th February 2023 to 30th March 2023, will witness the participation of close to 40 countries across Asia and the Middle East, providing gamers with a tactical platform to compete and build communities internationally. To be conducted virtually in its inaugural edition, the first iteration of the tournament will feature four esports titles including football, Dota2, Clash of Clans, Real Cricket, and PUBG Mobile (ex-India & Bangladesh), to ensure the inclusive and accommodative ethos of the championship and appeal to amateurs, mid-core and professional gamers.

CarryMinati states, “I am super pleased to join the family of Big Bang Esports Pvt. Ltd. and become a stakeholder along with my business partner Deepak Char. India is one of the fastest-growing esports markets in the world. The growth of e-sports in India has been phenomenal in recent years, and this boom will only gain momentum with more vigor and pace in the coming few years. E-sports has held a significant influence in my career trajectory and hence this partnership is a natural fit. E-sports enjoys the potential of transforming the creator economy, building borderless communities, and bolstering economic growth. The Asia Open Esports Championship could not only unlock the enormous potential that esports holds as the world’s most widely played competitive sport, but also culturally unite a fairly diverse region like Asia & the Middle East.”

Deepak Char states, “The Indian gaming community lacks exposure to top-drawer competitions and institutionalized professional training. Events like the Asia Open with the help of Big Bang Esports Pvt. Ltd. & CarryMinati will help accelerate the development and enhancement of the overall esports ecosystem and hence we see immense value in this partnership. India will emerge as one of the leading gaming capitals of the world in the near future, given that the government has now recognized gaming as a sport and this partnership will open doorways for many exciting developments to occur in the e-sports arena. The development of esports is a movement and needs the support of all stakeholders from the community to make it a success.”

Madhu Mantena (Founder & Chief Creative Officer, BBMVPL) and Ravneet Gill (Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BBMVPL) jointly state, “CarryMinati embodies the aspiration, spirit, and creative talent of today’s youth. We are delighted to have him on board as an equity partner. Together we shall co-create an esports culture that builds not just champion gamers, but also celebrates the spirit of participation while rewiring the future of the sport, entertainment, education, and engagement.”

IESF, the global governing body for esports, was founded in 2008 by nine member nations. It now includes 130 member federations from five continents. Big Bang Media Ventures Pvt Ltd is the co-promoter of Phantom Films & Mythoverse Studios, which rank amongst India’s leading and most admired content houses, and the founding investor of creator-led businesses like Collective Artists Network, BGBNG Music and Big Bang Social. through its different businesses has been the preferred curator for media tech platforms like Netflix, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Disney+ to name a few.

In the past few years, India’s nascent online gaming industry witnessed an unprecedented rise, catapulting it to the top five mobile gaming markets in the world. Registering a growth rate of 38%, online gaming is the next sunrise industry. Currently, there are more than 400 gaming companies in India, and it is home to 420 million online gamers, second only to China, according to an analysis by KPMG.

Presently, India is expected to become one of the world’s leading markets in the gaming industry. Growing steadily for the last five years, it is expected to treble in value and reach $3.9 billion by 2025, states a KPMG report. The total number of online gamers grew 8% from 360 million in 2020 to 390 million in 2021. The number of gamers is expected to cross 450 million by 2023, showed data from a report by EY and FICCI. The number of Indian gamers is expanding at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12% and is expected to jump to 700 million in FY25 compared with 507 million in 2021, says another report by Dentsu titled Gaming Report India 2022 – For the Game.

The COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2020 saw a spurt in the growth of online gaming in India. By September 2020, there were nearly 17% of worldwide downloads with 7.3 billion installed games in September 2020. It was the highest in the world. Novel gaming genres that are not only visually appealing but also more interactive will have a positive impact on market growth. However, the opportunities present bright prospects for the country’s $930 million industry which is forecasted to cross $5 billion by 2025. According to an EY report, esports will generate a total economic impact of over ₹ 100 billion through investments, direct industry revenues, in-app purchases and other revenues and create more than 11,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2025.

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