Tag: CS go

Gaming as a career option in India

Gaming is not seen just as a hobby or a timepass but can be considered as a great career option and is becoming a part of skill development, social interactions via joining specific gaming communities etc.

India has witnessed a strong growth in the gaming sector in the past few years. Even before the lockdown time of 2019, several gamers from India have come up and have been recognized even worldwide. Also, the pandemic gave people a boost as many people started playing during the pandemic just for timepass and streaming on online streaming platforms like YouTube , Twitch etc.

The gaming fanbase in India got a boost after the launch of most popular mobile game PUBG(PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) which is a mobile version of the paid game available on Steam(a platform to buy, play, create and discuss about PC Games). The game being released in 2017, had received a huge amount of fanbase and there were millions of players playing the game even in the initial stages of the game launch.

PUBG Mobile Gameplay (Source- Google Images)

During the pandemic time, several gamers started streaming the game on YouTube and got popular while grinding the game and showcasing their skills. This was seen as a sudden evolution of the mobile gaming industry in India. With internet and mobile devices being easily accessible, several people started playing the game. All these mobile and PC gaming come under the category of “E-Sports”. Several Internationally recognized E-Sports companies analyzed the potential of the Indian players and started investing upon them, making their teams and even spending lakhs and crores upon them by providing them the best things such as their own offices, high end devices and accessories for better competitive gaming.

Today, we have several Indian players who’re participating into multiple E-sports events and representing our country while doing so. Online PC multiplayer games like Valorant, Counter Strike, Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends etc. are the most popular competitive games around the web.

Valorant

Also, colleges and schools also conduct these events in their fest where students from different colleges(or schools) come to participate and the winner receives a good amount of cash prize.

The entire scenario regarding Gaming has been changed over the past few years. Parents are also supportive as they themselves are seeing the rapid growth of the gaming industry and are realizing that it can be considered as a great career option. Also, International tournaments offer great prizes including cash, Goodies, accessories etc. With the rise in technology, several upgrades are being made in the devices used for gaming(Laptops, PC’s, Mobiles). Companies manufacturing these devices are adding major upgrades each year for the user to perform smooth gaming. Also, if you go online or to the offline market for buying a device dedicated especially for gaming, there are a variety of options to explore. Tech giants like HP, Dell, Asus, Acer etc. are developing gaming laptops day by day and one can even get a good gaming beast at a reasonable price.

Furthermore, gaming has risen to become one of the most lucrative industries in the world, not only generating a great billion dollar revenue but also giving career and job opportunities to people all around the world. If we dive deep into the gaming field, then there is a vast variety of options to explore in this field as a career. Some of them are:

  1. Player
  2. Game Designer
  3. Game Developer
  4. Sound Designer and Audio Engineer
  5. Commentor and Anchor

Therefore, the final conclusion is if you’re someone who is passionate about gaming and if you are considering it as a career option then you can absolutely go with it. There are certain gaming communities all over the world on Discord App( An app that has certain communities, covering all the domains). Beginners can use it to connect with other gamers and build a gaming squad for playing. Also, one can apply for different E-sports club and with suitable research, they can get a great funding from investors. All you need to start with is a gaming device and a good internet connection for stable FPS(Frames Per Second) and ping rendering for seamless gaming experience.

Steam : PLATFORM THAT CHANGED PC GAMING FOREVER

Steam is a digital marketplace and is owned by Valve Corporation. Valve Corporation was formed by ex-Microsoft employees and after launching critically acclaimed games like Half-Life and Counter-Strike, they set out their eyes on retailing software through the internet.  

History of Steam

Steam was launched as a standalone software client in September 2003 as a channel to provide automatic updates for their games.  It pioneered the digital distribution of the software. Before video games used to be physically owned and any kind of updates and patches were very cumbersome to implement.  As owning music CDs became obsolete similarly owning games in physical media became a rare thing. As internet speeds increased, this meant that downloading games over the internet became easier, and having a single library where the users can access all their purchases has now become the norm.

Later it expanded to provide software by third-party developers to become a full-fledged distribution platform. The developer of Steam is Valve Corporation.  As of today, it is one of the most profitable privately owned corporations in the world.

Steam’s business model is very similar to the model that Apple uses in its app store. It operates a commission-based business model. Steam takes a percentage cut from all the sales made on its platform (30%)

How Steam grew from its initial years?

During In its initial years, Steam provided a freemium model.  It offered its games for a free-to-play model. It helped Steam to reach a wider audience and increase its growth.

Steam has benefited a lot with its network effect. As more and more game publishers and smaller indie game developers joined the platform. Steam increased its titles library. New developers got a medium to publish their games without the hassles and cost of hosting and maintaining the games. With the help of free games and new value units being added all the time, new users joined the platform at an ever-increasing rate as well.  Now consumers could access their whole game library in a single place. Thus benefiting both these sides of the core interaction.

Currently Steam has 100 million monthly active users and over 30,000+ games listed on its platform.

In the initial years Steam solved its chicken and egg problem by providing free games and free demos of games. The strategy of seeding by providing free updates and discounts that were not available in physical media helped Steam to become a viable option. The Same strategy is also followed by the Fortnite developer and Steam rival Epic Games Store which was launched in 2018. It gives away a free game every week. This has helped Epic to get a significant foothold in the market dominated by Steam. Even though Epic games store lacks in the number of feature layers that Steam provides. Valve had realized that its user base is a very valuable asset. To increase the engagement in the platform it added community forums. Where fellow users could discuss and help each other with any topic. Steam also introduced many new features including statistics tracking system and friend list. Now Steam was shaping up like a social media platform over its core interaction as a mere platform.

In 2008 Steam introduced a filtering system. That helps users to better find their desired product. Now the catalog could be browsed according to the genre. In 2012 Steam introduced Steam Guard.  This included two-factor authentications to curb frauds and also launched its mobile app. In 2012 Steam introduced Steam Guard.  This included two-factor authentications to curb frauds and also launched its mobile app. In 2016 Valve introduced the support for VR headsets. It collaborated with HTC to introduce the Vive headset.  Later extending support for Oculus Rift.

Present and Future

Recently Steam launched a new VR title, Half-life: Alyx with the introduction of its new VR headsets. It’s one of the best virtual reality applications to date and the game received critical acclaim from reviewers and users alike. Valve is again trying a paradigm shift for pushing Virtual Reality to the mainstream and so far they have been successful in it.

Steam was one of the first digital marketplaces and they are continually working on improving their platforms. Even with new competitors, Steam has been a relevant force for over 15 years. New technological ventures and platforms can learn a lot from Valve with its drive to be innovative and ambitious in its approach.

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