Pixel P&L by AFK Gaming
Posts
Pixel P&L: India's Online Gaming Spending Hits INR 10,000 Crore Monthly

Pixel P&L: India's Online Gaming Spending Hits INR 10,000 Crore Monthly

AFK Gaming Editorial
August 18, 2025

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 5 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

India's gaming market hits massive Rs 10,000 crore monthly spending.
Tencent beats revenue estimates at $25.7 billion, fueling aggressive AI investment strategy.
PayPal blocks Steam transactions over adult content disputes, affecting multiple currencies.
U.S. state Louisiana sues Roblox over child safety allegations, claiming platform prioritizes growth over protection.
Nexon reports mixed Q2 results despite revenue decline, with Maple Story surging 60% annually.

Let's get into it.

India's Online Gaming Spending Hits Rs 10,000 Crore Monthly

Indians are spending more than INR 10,000 crore ($1.2 billion) monthly on online gaming, according to India’s Chief Economic Advisor who revealed the massive scale of digital entertainment consumption in the world's most populous nation.

Monthly spending through India's Unified Payments Interface averaged over INR 10,000 crore ($1.2 billion) in the first four months of fiscal 2025-26, Nageswaran reportedly said Thursday. The figure equals spending at drug stores and pharmacies, representing 1.5% of all digital merchant payments. Overall spending will likely be higher, considering alternate sources like card payments and netbanking have not been taken into account.

The surge reflects India's growing appetite for mobile gaming, fueled by cheap internet and over 650 million smartphone users consuming an average 24 gigabytes monthly. The spending includes real-money games like fantasy cricket and poker, which generated INR 16,500 crore ($2 billion) in revenue in 2023. Transaction sizes jumped 38% from April to July as major platforms like Steam and Epic Games added local payment options.

Tencent Revenue Beats Estimates as Gaming Fuels AI Investment

Tencent Holdings Ltd. reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue rising to 184.5 billion yuan ($25.7 billion) in the three months ended June, surpassing analyst estimates of 179 billion yuan ($24.9 billion).

China's most valuable company posted net income of 55.6 billion yuan ($7.7 billion), beating projections of 50.8 billion yuan ($7.1 billion), as strong performance from gaming franchises and super-app WeChat provided resources for accelerating AI investments.

The Shenzhen-based tech giant is ramping up spending on artificial intelligence research and product development, integrating DeepSeek's R1 model and its own Hunyuan system into games and services. Tencent has gained over $170 billion in market value this year amid investor enthusiasm around China's AI breakthrough.

Key upcoming catalysts also include next week's launch of Valorant Mobile and new game announcements at Germany's Gamescom conference.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Nexon Reports Mixed Q2 Results Despite Revenue Decline

Nexon Co. reported second-quarter revenue of ¥118.9 billion ($804.7 million), down 3% year-over-year, while claiming "stronger-than-expected results" as key franchises showed renewed momentum. Operating income fell 17% to ¥37.7 billion ($255.2 million) and net income plunged 58% to ¥16.8 billion ($113.7 million). The South Korean game publisher's flagship titles Maple Story and Dungeon & Fighter drove growth, with Maple Story revenue surging 60% annually.

PayPal Bank Blocks Steam Transactions Over Adult Content

One of PayPal's acquiring banks has blocked all Steam transactions across multiple currencies amid ongoing disputes over explicit gaming content on Valve's platform. The restrictions affect all currencies except the Euro, British pound, Japanese yen, and U.S., Canadian and Australian dollars. Valve cited previous conflicts with Mastercard over adult content policies, while conservative groups have pressured payment processors to stop handling transactions for platforms hosting explicit games.

Louisiana Sues Roblox Over Child Safety Allegations

The U.S. state of Louisiana has sued Roblox Corp., alleging the gaming platform facilitates child sexual exploitation by prioritizing growth over safety protocols. Attorney General Liz Murrill claims Roblox lacks adequate age verification despite having access to biometric technology, allowing minors access to inappropriate content. Roblox denied the allegations, saying it has implemented over 40 safety features and disputes claims it would intentionally endanger users.

⚔️Side Quest

Credits: CatTrigger Comics

📺 Watch: A sharp analysis of how SaaS transformed gaming from $60 single-player experiences to live-service models with endless microtransactions. Through detailed case studies of CD Projekt Red, Square Enix, and Take-Two, it reveals why modern games launch broken and how companies navigate this fundamental industry shift.

🎮 Play: The Children of Clay, a free but beautifully atmospheric archaeology mystery where you investigate a mysterious artifact using authentic research methods - magnifying glass, reference books, and careful observation. The Finno-Ugric cultural themes and haunting sound design create genuine immersion. Short but perfectly paced, this creepy puzzle delivers satisfying detective work with genuinely unsettling consequences.

📚 Read: An insightful breakdown from GI.biz on how economic downturns reshape gaming strategies. Explores why free-to-play games may weather recessions better than premium titles, and examines the controversial return of "whale-chasing" monetization targeting high spenders while masses turn to free entertainment.

💡Did You Know

Final Fantasy VII was initially developed for the Nintendo 64, with Square creating early demos featuring Cloud, Barret, and Red XIII on expensive Silicon Graphics workstations. However, Square's vision for a sprawling 3D RPG with extensive cutscenes and content couldn't fit on N64 cartridges. Square repeatedly advised Nintendo to adopt CD-ROM technology, warning about insufficient bandwidth and storage limitations. Nintendo president Yamauchi stubbornly refused to listen, prompting Square to abandon their close partnership and jump to Sony's CD-based PlayStation. This decision was so contentious that Nintendo allegedly told Square "never come back," freezing their relationship for nearly a decade and reshaping the entire gaming industry.

📜 Quote of the Day

“One day all this will be over. The war to end all wars will be won by one side or the other. The guns will rust. Grass will grow and there'll be nothing left of any of this. The land will heal itself, as everything does in the end. We'll be long gone by then but maybe not forgotten. History only remembers one in a thousand of us then the future will be filled with stories of who we were and what we did. How we lived, how we fought, and how we died. When this is all over and the war is won, they will remember us. But until that day comes, we will stand, we will look death in the eye and we will fight!”