RISE Worldwide Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), and BLAST Esports Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BLAST ApS, have announced to form a joint venture to conduct e-sports business in India.

The JV will bringing BLAST’s globally recognised e-sports properties and production techniques to India while co-creating new tournament IPs tailored to the fast-growing gaming market, RIL said. 

BLAST is a European-based e-sports entertainment company and one of the biggest tournament organisers in the world. 

BLAST currently works with leading game publishers such as Epic Games, Valve, Riot Games, KRAFTON and Ubisoft to produce, market and deliver e-sports for popular titles in Rocket League, Fortnite, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 - with all titles having a combined active monthly player base of over 350 million. 

The JV entity will bring together BLAST’s e-sports media production expertise, publisher relationships, popular IPs, and Jio’s technology expertise, distribution reach, and local relationships to host events on the JioGames platform.

Robbie Douek, CEO, BLAST, said, “India is one of the most exciting and fastest-growing gaming markets in the world, with a rapidly expanding e-sports audience and appetite for more competitive gaming experiences. By partnering with Reliance, a market leader with unparalleled expertise and reach in India, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the local e-sports scene to new heights. BLAST has a proven track record of delivering world-class tournaments and entertainment for global audiences, and we can’t wait to bring that expertise to India.”

“This joint venture will not only help grow the Indian e-sports ecosystem but also create new pathways for local talent to shine on the global stage,” he said. 

Devang Bhimjyani, Head of Reliance Sports, said, “We are very confident that with this partnership, India e-sports will be able to realise its full potential. With this JV, Reliance will extend its interest in sports into e-sports and leverage RISE’s ability to market and promote sporting events and teams, along with Jio providing its distribution and technology expertise.”

India is the fastest growing gaming market with a massive gamer base of more than 600 million (18% of the total gamers globally). India’s gaming market is projected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 19% to reach $9.2 billion by 2029 from $3.8 billion in 2024, RIL said. 

The global e-sports market is expected to grow to $16.7 billion by 2033 from $2.8 billion in 2024, exhibiting a CAGR of about 22%. India esports market is in the nascent stages and is expected to be a high growth market. The Government of India has officially recognised esports in the country by declaring it as a part of the “multi-sports event” category, it added.