Did you know that esports – a form of organized, multiplayer video games – is rapidly becoming popular in India?
In fact, revenue from the Indian esports market is expected to grow from Rs 250 crore in 2021 at Rs 1,100 crore in 2025according Statistical The data.
Players, streamers and professional esports gamers and fans who play and watch esports are contributing to this growth, alongside the huge popularity of games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Gareena Free Fire, etc.
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For the start the growing esports market provides an opportunity to create a platform for esports fans, game creators and gamers to collect, play and interact with their favorite esports influencers, acquire related collectibles play, earn rewards, etc.
Starts with Parth Chadha, Akshat Rathee, Rahul Singh, Shubham Gupta and Nauman MullaSTAN also allows users to get signed merchandise from esports celebrities, have the chance to visit creator or streamer training camps, meet them on Instagram, join them one-on-one head to clubs, and more.
The STAN platform is built above the blockchain, and enables engagement of its users through fun loopable layers on the platform.
In an interview with The story unraveled Parth says, “Esports players have become celebrities and have built huge fanbases with millions of subscribers. We have seen the growing need to connect esports fans with their idols. Until now, it was only possible to go to YouTube and donate to players, while Patreon does not focus on games.
He adds, “For STAN, blockchain is the technology that enables trust and ownership of assets, such as officially licensed NFTs of esports players. End users can not only collect these NFTs but also use them in games on the DAW platform and level up to earn rewards.
An illustration of the STAN application
Crossroads of Web3 and sport
STANstarted in 2022raised $2.5 million during a round table in May.
The tour was led by General Catalystalongside other venture capitalists, including A better capital and Eximius Ventures.
Angels like Aadil Mamujee from and Coinbase’s Nakul Gupta also participated in the round.
STAN has yet to launch its full-scale platform, but has already signed with 60+ big names in the world of Indian esports. Some of them include player names such as Jonathan, 4200P, Roxx, Neyo, Attanki, etc.
Although some Indian startups are exploring business opportunities at the intersection of sports and Web3, STAN seems to be taking a different approach.
The tastes of Rario and fancraze bet big on cricket NFTs, which are based on real cricketers playing physical sports.
STAN, however, focuses on esports gamers – the digital counterparts of physical gamers. And in the world of esports, the possibilities are virtually endless as players can achieve more in action-packed games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, BGMI, and more. which are not possible in real life.
Transition of the gaming industry to Web3
It is a well-known fact that India has a large number of online gamers. Around 433 million of the 846 million Internet users play games in India, but a large majority of them do not play esports.
However, with the growing popularity of esports, STAN is looking to capitalize on the influx of esports fans and meet the needs of the existing contingent of gamers. To do this, Parth admits that a Web3-only approach won’t work.
“Esports games and player NFTs and other assets are not for crypto traders to buy and sell. They are aimed at gaming fans, who don’t really need to know whether the assets are tangible or non-fungible. So we follow a’Web 2.5′ approach – where we find the middle ground between applying traditional Web2 gaming/esports principles and blockchain technology,” says Parth.
What does it mean?
Parth explains that Web 2.5 is an easy way to transition Web2 esports fans into the world of Web3. On STAN, users can purchase in-game coins by paying in fiat (INR). Then they can use in-game currency to buy on-chain items like NFTs.
“This is different from other projects, which typically require users to have a Web3 wallet like MetaMask and link it to the gaming platform,” says Parth.
Future plans
After purchasing NFTs, users can hang out and interact with the STAN universe, which will feature more games over time. With more time spent and achievements unlocked, users can upgrade their NFTs, which they can sell on the DAW market – an upcoming initiative.
“Ultimately, STAN needs to be both an engagement/utility layer and an economic layer. So we’re building one game at a time to bring more utility to NFTs, as well as the market to trade them,” says Parth.
Going forward, STAN plans to continue to grow its community of celebrities and esports fans and unlock various possible revenue channels.
Some of the possible sources of income for STAN include branding opportunities, selling rights to use game assets, driving engagement for Web2 streaming platforms, launching its own NFT collection, and more.