Popular gaming influencer, Naman Mathur, Co-Founder and CMO of S8UL Esports and the only Indian athlete to ever be nominated at the prestigious e-sports awards for four successive times, captivated audiences at the ET NOW Global Business Summit 2024 as he recounted his journey from casually uploading gaming videos on YouTube to becoming an entertainment and eSports icon with nearly 7 million subscribers.
“Back in 2018, I noticed foreign gaming influencers had huge Indian followings commenting on their videos. So I decided to create my Indian gaming content, which quickly went viral with over 15,000 new subscribers overnight,” said Mathur.
Initially sceptical, his mother allowed him to pause his professional studies when the YouTube revenue started flowing in. By 2019, Naman had co-founded the content creator group S8UL eSports with partners to “dominate in both eSports competition and casual entertainment streaming.”
The vision proved successful – S8UL eSports won Influencer of the Year awards four years straight. Mathur himself won multiple national tournaments and represented India abroad.
With gaming tournaments offering millions in prize money globally, Mathur believes India’s gaming industry is poised to “reach there anytime soon.” He cited local tournaments already offering over Rs 2 crore and events drawing audiences of 7,000-13,000.
“Gaming can be seen as a career option. According to one report, gaming will create 1 lakh jobs in India by 2023,” stated Naman. His own gaming “family” already lives and creates content together at a facility in Navi Mumbai.
But competitions are only part of the revenue. Mathur shared that endemic gaming brands and non-endemic brands like MG, Gillette and Mama Earth have found innovative ways to engage the gaming demographic.
“We’ve worked with 250+ brands, and I hope we work with more,” he said. “There is huge potential for brands in gaming, and together we can grow this industry in India.”
In conclusion, Naman made a passionate call to action: “Gaming and eSports in India has the potential to lead the world, given our vast gamer base. Together we can create policies, games, investments and infrastructure to make gaming a major economic contributor here.”
