“PlayerUnknown’s Battleground” or PUBG as it is popularly known is an online multiplayer battle game that has become a rage the world over. The youngsters in India have also become huge fans of PUBG, and the influence of this game may be showing in the increase in applications for online gaming courses in India.
Lovely Professional University(LPU) is one of the leading private universities in Punjab, India. LPU spokesperson says that they have seen a ten percent increase in applications for courses related to online gaming.
In 2016, India had approximately one hundred and twenty million online players. This number would have gone up significantly since the PUBG craze hit the country.
With more and more youngsters becoming enthralled by the game, it is not surprising that many are considering this as a career option.
But the big question is this – are the educational institutions in India equipped to guide students into this stream?
The vast majority of institutions still teach traditional lessons in the field of computer science. While colleges are gradually adding lessons on Big Data and Analytics, online gaming courses are still not available to most students.
A KPMG-Google report says that India’s online gaming industry is poised to cross the one billion USD mark by 2021. This will prompt many government institutes and private colleges to launch courses in multimedia and graphics as part of online gaming courses.
Prof. Ravi, who heads the School of Design in LPU, says that the number of girls applying for these courses is equal to that of the boys. He believes it is their passion for gaming that is guiding their subject selection for undergraduate studies.
Higher studies and online gaming courses
While Universities abroad have well-structured courses for gaming and designing at the postgraduate level, this is lacking in India.
Universities like LPU are planning to remedy this as soon as possible by including postgraduate courses in animation, designing, etc.
A critical factor for the success of this stream would be the availability of internships for students.
This rage in gaming will also have an impact on the computer hardware industry. While the gaming ecosystem in India is not as evolved as China, people who are hooked on to the games via their phones will graduate to bigger and better screens. HP India, the market leader in personal computers in India, is optimistic for an “explosion” in this sector in the coming years.
All the trends point towards increasing opportunities for students and young professionals in the field of online gaming in India.
