Karnataka has no district-level esports census. Until one exists, this page publishes a single thing: a transparent estimate of how large the gaming population is in each of the 31 districts, built from public national and state data, with the whole method shown.
Every district in Karnataka, shaded by the measure you choose. Click any cell for its profile, estimated title mix and general context.
Five views of the same figures. Each chart reads directly from the open data file — replace that file and every chart here changes with it.
A proposed grouping of the 31 districts for calendar coordination and regional competition. No zone has been constituted — this is the structure the federation intends to build toward, shown here so it can be argued with before it is fixed.
Click a column header to sort. Search or filter by band. Click any row for the district profile.
| District | Headquarters | Proposed Zone | Population (2025 est.) | Penetration (est.) | Estimated Players | Band | Likely Most Played | Title-Mix Profile |
|---|
Population is a 2025 projection of Census 2011 counts. Penetration, estimated players and title mix are modelled — see the method.
Stated as suggestions, because that is what an estimate can support.
None of this is running yet. It is published now so that district organisations, colleges and players can tell us what is wrong with it before it is set.
Free-entry qualifiers at taluk level, mobile-first, with a low-specification ladder running alongside so that an entry-level Android device is never a disqualifier. This is the stage that determines whether the rest of the structure means anything.
One title per district per game, run by a chartered district association against a common ruleset, with results recorded to a central register.
Six regional zones consolidating district champions. The first stage at which standardised tournament-specification hardware would be supplied rather than assumed.
A live-audience LAN final, and the selection event for any state representation in each title.
Nomination of Karnataka representation into the national pathway, under the framework administered by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Onward to continental and world competition through the recognised international pathway for each title.
In full, so that anyone can reproduce it or reject it.
A 2025 projection of Census 2011 district counts using Karnataka decadal growth rates, with the 2021 Vijayanagara bifurcation applied to the former Ballari district.
Anchored to the national benchmark of roughly 520 million Indian gamers against a population of about 1.45 billion — around 36% (FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2026). That national rate is then adjusted per district using urbanisation and the TRAI Karnataka circle's 63.7% urban / 36.3% rural subscriber split as of March 2025. This step is a judgement call.
Population multiplied by the district coefficient. Statewide this resolves to roughly 2.48 crore, about 34% of the projected state population — close to the national ratio, which is what you would expect if the method is not badly wrong.
Five archetypes built from national genre share — battle-royale and shooter genres account for over 40% of Indian in-app game revenue — with a PC weighting applied to districts with dense engineering-college enrolment and established LAN-cafe clusters. Also a judgement call.
If you hold better information — a college club roll, a cafe network's footfall, a local tournament's entry list — send it to districts@kef.org.in. Corrections are versioned and credited. The data layer is a single file, so replacing it updates every chart, table and map on this site at once.
| Figure | Source | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| ~520 million Indian gamers (2025) | FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2026 | National penetration anchor |
| 100 million+ daily players | FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2026 | Context |
| 40%+ in-app revenue from BR & shooters | FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2026 | Title-mix archetypes |
| Karnataka circle: 63.7% urban / 36.3% rural | TRAI Performance Indicator Report, Mar 2025 | District coefficient adjustment |
| District population counts | Census of India 2011, projected to 2025 | Population base |
| ~300 AVGC studios, 12 gaming institutes | Karnataka AVGC-XR Policy 3.0 (2024–2029) | Context |
Released for reuse. Attribution: Karnataka Esports Federation district baseline estimate, July 2026 — modelled, not audited.
All 31 districts with population, penetration, estimated players, band and likely most-played title.
Structured records including proposed zone, title mix and district context notes.
kef-data.js — the live data layer, with the full method in its header comment.
Get kef-data.jsEvery correction moves this from an estimate toward a count. That is the only way this page stops being a model and starts being a record.