Hyd destination for gaming ind to host events: Stan CEO

As per a report by EY, India’s content industry is set to cross $30.6 billion in valuation by 2023

Hyderabad: Why is the Indian Game Developer Conference held in Hyderabad every year and why did Bengaluru-headquartered Stan, a blockchain-based esports fan engagement startup hold the largest Fan Fest last year here, and the first-ever Stan Creator Fest this year? The State government here is supportive, good infrastructure is in place with an interesting and fun-filled gamer and fan community, says Stan CEO.

As per a report by EY, India’s content industry is set to cross $30.6 billion in valuation by 2023, majority of the digital content creation dominated by gaming and esports creators. To foster gaming content creation space, Stan Creator Fest 2023 was held in Hyderabad on Sunday for micro creators to network, collaborate, and share knowledge.

Speaking to Bizz Buzz on the gaming ecosystem in Hyderabad, Parth Chadha, Co-Founder and CEO, Stan, said: “The gaming ecosystem is growing here as the Telangana government is supportive. Why did Indian Game Developer Conference choose to host the event here? Because, the State government is helping the entire gaming community grow. Then there is good infrastructure in place to get those gamers here. Moreover, Hyderabad is an interesting community having a blend of local feeling and people who understand and have fun on live streams. One of the famous gamer from Hyderabad is in the Big Boss house right now. It is interesting and unique how Hyderabad’s gaming ecosystem has shaped up. That is why we choose Hyderabad every year to kickoff our events.”

Founded in January 2022, Stan has 30 lakh downloads and 30 lakh gamers using its mobile application, partnership with top 100 gaming YouTubers of India, partnered with 15 – 20 gaming companies out of which five to six are big games, and nearly 200 gaming content creators are earning from Stan, wherein in the last six months creators have earned Rs 3 crore, through Stan platform and brand integration.

Stan has provided a platform where gamers, fans get to play games with their favorite gaming content creator. “For content creators the source of income till now has been YouTube ads and that too when they reach a subscriber count. This does not help them grow faster as those earnings have to be reinvested into creating the videos. With Stan, creators get to engage with the fans along with other gamers, besides helping them grow faster. They can also start generating revenues from the day one,” Chadha further said.

Last year, the startup had its focus on the A category of gaming content creators. This year, Stan will look at partnering with micro creators having 10-50,000 subscriber base. From the current 200 gaming content creators, the platform will reach 1,000 creators by end of next year. With this, the startup aims for over 10 lakh gamers to engage with creators and gamers on Stan.

The founders had raised equity-funding of $2.5 million in seed round in 2022. Chadha informed that they are looking to raise an undisclosed investment in the Pre-series round. The startup earns revenue through the in-app purchases made by people who buy Stan coins.