When over 70% of online gamers prefer native comfort of their local languages, gaming companies take note, and offer what the customer wants.
“Vernacular offerings don’t just increase accessibility; they deepen emotional engagement, improving both retention and user satisfaction. The industry is waking up to the fact that gaming is no longer niche or urban—it’s a pan-India phenomenon, and language is central to that expansion,” said Roland Landers, spokesperson of the All India Game Developers’ Forum (AIGDF), a not-for-profit collective representing the interests of Indian game developers.
India has about 550 million gaming users, and as per the second edition of the India Gaming Report released by WinZO in partnership with the Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council (IEIC) recently, most of them would like to game in their local language.
Leading the charge is homegrown gaming platform WinZO, which identified a vast, underserved population beyond urban India where English isn’t the primary language, when it started in 2018. “By delivering games in over 12 Indian languages and embedding them in local stories and formats, we aimed at transforming gaming into an engaging and relatable experience for first-time internet users, while also empowering regional content creators and influencers to grow and thrive,” said Saumya Singh Rathore, co-founder of WinZO.
Similarly, on Rooter, a game streaming, esports content and commerce platform, vernacular languages form the bulk of streamed content, spanning across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and more. “Hindi leads with ~80% content followed by Tamil (10%) and Bengali (5%), highlighting the growth of regional gaming communities. For creators, esports professionals and all kinds of gaming fans, local languages are how they connect and communicate with their community,” said Piyush Kumar, founder and CEO, Rooter.
The average watch time per user on Rooter sits at 25-30 minutes, and during tournament periods, this number shoots up to one hour per user—“a clear indicator of the deep engagement vernacular content drives”.
“We also saw a 5% year-on-year increase in new users uploading vernacular content in 2024,” added Kumar.
Anuj Tandon, partner, Bitkraft Ventures, a US-based early-stage investor focused on gaming and interactive media, said vernacular will be one of the biggest drivers of getting a large gaming audience in India in the next two-three years. “As gaming habits evolve, Indians will prefer heavy localisation to their region and language. This does not just include language and low-touch user interface changes but also more regional content,” Tandon said, adding: “If you want to win in markets like India, localisation is not an option but a must for game developers and publishers. Having local, culturally relevant content in games helps in long-term engagement as well leading to better monetisation.”
For gaming companies, developers and investors, the opportunities in catering to this demand for vernacular content are substantial. For instance, gaming platform Gamezop provides plug-and-play HTML5 games that can be integrated into any app or website in 30 minutes. It has been integrated within 6,500 apps in India alone, each with a diverse user base, and its gaming platform is available in various Indian languages.
“We have undertaken the initiative to localise our platform in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Odia, along with a few foreign languages. This allows our partner apps and websites—both in India and internationally— that integrate our games to serve a wider and diverse audience, thereby boosting user engagement by 15-40%. We are actively expanding our language offerings and enhancing Indian language support across our platform,” said Yashash Agarwal, CEO and co-founder, Gamezop.
Despite the immense opportunities, some challenges remain. For instance, in execution, as per Anurag Chaudhary, CEO and founder of Felicity Games, a mobile game publishing platform. “Localisation isn’t just about translation—it’s about cultural adaptation. A game’s humour, references, and even mechanics might need tweaking to resonate with different regional audiences. Another challenge is maintaining cost efficiency; adding multiple language support and localised content can be resource-intensive. Companies need scalable solutions, such as AI-driven translation tools or modular game design, to make vernacular gaming sustainable,” he added.
Meanwhile, gaming platforms are undertaking several initiatives to build and maintain an ecosystem around vernacular languages. WinZO, for instance, works with a network of over 75,000 influencers and content creators, who have till date streamed games for over 1 million hours in languages as diverse as Konkani, Kutchi, Haryanvi and Malvani. “While working with WinZO, over 20% of these content creators have filed their income taxes under India’s taxation regime for the first time adding to active contribution to the GDP and creating a gig economy and employment,” said Rathore.
WinZO also works with a network of 7,000 translators, primarily housemakers, college students and retired professionals. “They contribute to making game content more accessible and inclusive by translating in-app assets, marketing creatives, and other content used by WinZO to provide a localised, vernacular experience, earning on an average `30,000 per month,” added Rathore.
Some platforms have also rolled out multilingual customer support, making it easier for non-English-speaking users to engage with the game and resolve issues. “Studios like Mayhem Studios have gone a step further by incorporating Indian environments and local characters into their gameplay, adding a layer of authenticity that resonates with regional audiences,” said Landers of AIGDF.
“At Felicity, we’re investing in community engagement—working with native-language content creators, designing offerings tailored to different linguistic groups, and ensuring our games feel culturally native rather than just translated,” said Chaudhary. “Another key initiative is leveraging data analytics to track engagement by language preference, helping us refine experiences based on real user behaviour,” he added.