India’s esports industry gets a boost with Reliance-BLAST partnership

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Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has entered the esports industry by forming a joint venture (JV) with BLAST Esports. This partnership aims to expand and develop the esports ecosystem in India, leveraging both companies’ strengths.

According to The Economic Times, RIL’s wholly owned subsidiary, RISE Worldwide Limited (RISE), and BLAST Esports Limited (BLAST) announced their strategic collaboration on Wednesday. The joint entity will combine BLAST’s expertise in esports media production, publisher relationships, and intellectual properties with Jio’s technological advancements, distribution network, and local market reach. The venture will focus on hosting esports events through the JioGames platform, driving sustainable growth and innovation in India’s gaming sector.

The JV will provide a comprehensive range of esports services, including:

• End-to-end tournament management
• Services for publishers and sponsors
• Targeted marketing strategies
• High-quality production and broadcasting solutions

India’s esports industry is experiencing significant growth, with over 600 million gamers—18% of the global gaming population. The country’s gaming market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19% and reach $9.2 billion by 2029, up from $3.8 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, the global esports market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 22%, growing from $2.8 billion in 2024 to $16.7 billion by 2033.

BLAST CEO Robbie Douek emphasized the importance of this collaboration, stating, “By partnering with Reliance, a market leader with unparalleled expertise and reach in India, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the local esports scene to new heights. BLAST has a proven track record of delivering world-class tournaments and entertainment for global audiences, and we can’t wait to bring that expertise to India.”

Devang Bhimjyani, Head of Reliance Sports, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “We are very confident that with this partnership, India esports will be able to realize its full potential. With this JV, Reliance will extend its interest in sports into esports and leverage RISE’s ability to market and promote sporting events and teams, along with Jio providing its distribution and technology expertise.”

BLAST has an extensive track record of working with major game publishers, including Epic Games, Valve, Riot Games, KRAFTON, and Ubisoft. It has been involved in producing, marketing, and delivering esports tournaments for popular games such as Rocket League, Fortnite, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2. These games collectively have over 350 million active monthly players.

Esports is gaining global recognition, with the International Olympic Committee planning an annual series and the Olympic Council of Asia including esports in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

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