Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. is making an entry into the esports industry through a joint venture with European tournament organizer BLAST. This move marks Reliances expansion into India’s rapidly growing gaming sector. The collaboration is announced by RISE Worldwide Ltd. which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance and BLAST Esports Ltd. A division of Denmark-based BLAST ApS is trying to capitalize Indias massive gaming industry which exceeds 600 million players. India’s Massive Gaming Industry Indias gaming industry is expected to nearly triple in size from $3.8 billion in 2024 to $9.2 billion by 2029 according to estimates cited by the company. Globally the esports market is forecast to grow from $2.8 billion this year to $16.7 billion by 2033. India is the fastest growing gaming market with a massive gamer base which is 18 percent of the total gamers globally. Indias esports market is in the nascent stage and is expected to be a high-growth market. The government of India has officially recognised esports in the country by declaring it a part of the multi-sports event category. Esports short for electronic sports is a form of competition using video games in which multiplayer video games are played competitively. The strategic partnership will help to accelerate this growth by bringing BLAST’s globally recognised esports properties and production techniques to India while co-creating new tournament IPs tailored to the fast-growing gaming market it said. The new JV entity will bring together BLAST’s esports media production expertise publisher relationships wide suite of highly popular IPs and Jio’s technology expertise unparalleled distribution reach and local relationships to host these events on the  JioGames platform for sustainable growth and innovation in the industry it said. BLAST works with the world’s best game publishers and brands and its events are forecasted to generate 2 billion views in 2025 reach global audiences in more than 150 territories and broadcast in over 30 languages. Commenting on the development Robbie Douek CEO of BLAST said By partnering with Reliance a market leader with unparalleled expertise and reach in India we have a unique opportunity to elevate the local esports scene to new heights. Devang Bhimjyani Head of Reliance Sports said With this JV Reliance will extend its interest in sports into esports and leverage RISEs ability to market and promote sporting events and teams along with Jio providing its distribution and technology expertise. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is India’s largest private-sector company with a consolidated revenue of USD 119.9 billion. Its operations span hydrocarbon exploration and production petroleum refining and marketing petrochemicals advanced materials and composites renewables retail and digital services.  (With Inputs From PTI)