The Indian gaming community has made a name for itself in the global gaming industry. It has emerged above the US and Brazil in terms of game downloads according to the India Gaming Report (IGR) 2024. The total mobile game downloads in India in the year 2023 exceeded the total downloads of the next two markets combined namely, the US and Brazil. In just a span of four years (2019 to 2023), the number of game downloads in India shot up from 5.65 billion to 9.5 billion.
The competitive gaming landscape in India has witnessed a remarkable boom, with the count of professional players skyrocketing from just 100 in 2019 to a notable 500 by 2023, as stated in IGR 2024. Projections indicate that this figure is set to expand by 2.5 times over the next five years. India’s gaming content creation community has also seen explosive growth, now comprising an impressive 300,000 creators and streamers. These content creators enjoy a substantial audience of around 600 million users.
| Rank | Indian Gaming Icons |
|---|---|
| #10 | Payal "Payal Gaming" Dhare |
| #9 | Sujan "Gyan Gaming" Mistri |
| #8 | Lokesh "Lokesh Gamer" Raj |
| #7 | Sahil "AS Gaming" Rana |
| #6 | Ujjwal "Techno Gamerz" Chaurasia |
| #5 | Ajay "Total Gaming" Ajju Bhai |
| #4 | Ajey "CarryisLive" Nagar |
| #3 | Tanmay "Sc0ut" Singh |
| #2 | Aaditya "Dynamo Gaming" Sawant |
| #1 | Naman "Mortal" Thakur |
Gaming and esports streamers are leading this movement and in the process, they are generating more and more interest among people towards gaming including professional gaming.
Let us get to know the 10 most popular gaming and esports streamers in India who are at the frontline of this revolution.
These esports and gaming personalities are nothing less than iconic – here are the top 10 Indian Gaming icons.
#10 – Payal Gaming
Payal Dhare aka Payal Gaming is one of the most famous female gamers and streamers in the current times in India. She began her journey by uploading a few short clips of her gameplay in PUBG which went viral. She then picked up on live streaming and built a fanbase of her own. Her channel has more than 3.6 million subscribers at the moment.
- Games of choice: BGMI
- Awards/Achievements: Dynamic Gaming Creator of the Year at Creators United 2023,Best Female Gamer at the InfluencEX 2023 Awards by Exhibit, Fan Favourite Female Streamer of the Year at the India Gaming Awards Season 2
#9 – Gyan Gaming
Sujan Mistri aka Gyan Gaming has always been one of the biggest names in the Free Fire community. He began his journey back in 2017 with several games however later he shifted his focus towards Free Fire, one of the top mobile games in India. His in-game skills have impressed a number of people. His channel now has more than 15 million subscribers.
- Games of choice: Free Fire, Fortnite, Minecraft, GTA V, COD Mobile
#8 – Lokesh Gamer
Lokesh Raj, also known as Lokesh Gamer, is a prominent figure in the Garena Free Fire community.
He is not just a player but also a YouTuber and content creator. Lokesh has earned the nickname “Diamond King” due to his exceptional skills in the game. His stats in Free Fire Esports are highly regarded as some of the best in the country and feature in esports tournaments.
With a total of 7 channels, Lokesh’s second most notable channel is ‘LR7 GAMING’, boasting over 1.1 million subscribers where he regularly streams his Free Fire matches. His primary channel has over 15.5 million subscribers.
- Games of choice: Free Fire
#7 – AS Gaming
Sahil Rana, better known as AS Gaming, is an Indian YouTuber, video maker, and Free Fire player. His YouTube channel began in October 2016, but it took him around three years to upload his first video which was “5 Secret Spots In Bermuda Map.”
However, 2020 was a game-changer for him as his channel numbers increased significantly. The subscriber count on his YouTube channel now stands at over 20 million.
- Games of choice: GTA V, Free Fire, Minecraft
#6 – Techno Gamerz
Ujjwal Chaurasia aka Techno Gamerz shot through the popularity charts due to his video game tutorials as well as installation tutorials. He began his journey in 2017 and since then he has garnered around 39 million subscribers on YouTube.
He is also a mentor in Playground. Several new gamers look up to him and want to have a journey as successful as his.
- Games of choice: GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Minecraft, Ranch Simulator, BGMI and Free Fire
#5 – Total Gaming
Ajay aka Ajju Bhai or Total Gaming started his journey back in 2018 with an anonymous identity. No one knew who this person was, all people knew was his name Ajay or Ajju Bhai. He gained popularity by streaming videos of Free Fire, Call Of Duty: Mobile, and more.
He finally revealed his face by the end of 2023 after amassing 37 million subscribers on YouTube, he now has over 40 million subscribers.
He gained popularity due to his style of commentary. Along with his team Total Gaming Esports, Ajay won the Free Fire India Championship (2020) for the esports game.
- Games of choice: Free Fire, COD Mobile, BGMI, GTA 5
#4 – CarryisLive
Ajey Nagar aka CarryisLive or Carryminati’s journey is not identical to the streamers mentioned above. Carryminati started his journey by roasting people and uploading gameplays of various games.
He established himself as one of the most prominent roasters in India and then started his secondary channel CarryisLive, where he livestreams while playing games. Along with Mortal, he is also a mentor in the Playground show.
Carryminati started this secondary channel in 2017 and it has more than 12 million subscribers on YouTube.
- Games of choice: BGMI, GTA V, God Of War
#3 – Sc0ut
Tanmay Singh aka Sc0utOP has also cemented his name in the industry. Akin to the aforementioned, Sc0ut also made a name for himself in the Indian gaming industry with PUBG.
He started his journey back in 2018 and since then he has amassed around 5 million subscribers on YouTube. He has also contributed his voice to various animated characters in Hindi movies and TV series, and been a mentor in Playground in addition to gaming.
He gained popularity for his skills that he showcased internationally.
- Games of choice: BGMI
- Awards/Achievements: 1st Position in Fighting League 2018 – India, 2nd Position in ESL India Premiership 2020 Summer Season: Finals
#2 – Dynamo Gaming
Again, one of the legendary names which creates ripples in the industry just like Mortal. PUBG Live videos and videos did the magic for him and made him a gaming sensation.
Aaditya Sawant aka Dynamo started his journey back in 2010 and over the years he developed a strong interest in gaming.
He has amassed a following of around 10 million subscribers on YouTube. He has made a solid name for himself now which makes him unforgettable when we talk about gaming streamers and mobile gaming.
- Games of choice: BGMI, Dota 2, GTA V, Apex Legends
- Awards/Achievements: Won “Fan Favourite Streamer of the Year (Male)” Award at the India Gaming Awards 2022
#1 – Mortal
His is one of the names that was buzzing at the time when esports was making it into mainstream discussions and still continues to buzz in the current times.
Naman Thakur, popularly known as Soul Mortal is a popular gamer and YouTuber. His YouTube channel, where he posts gameplay videos, live streams, vlogs, and other gaming-related content began in 2016 and so far it has amassed a following of over 7 million subscribers on YouTube.
Mortal is a mentor in India’s first gaming reality show, Playground.
- Games of choice: BGMI
- Awards/Achievements: 1st Position in BGMI Pro Series – Season 1, 1st Position in PUBG Mobile India Series 2019, 1st Position in PUBG Mobile Club Open – Spring Split: India
Have a look at the gameplay of these players, maybe it will motivate you to kickstart your own journey of gaming and streaming.
