CEO of Enigma Gaming, Aryaman Wasan explains the reasons behind Enigma's move to MYSG

Greetings, readers, welcome back to another article by OwlDroneMedia. Through this article, we would like to bring to limelight a thread published by one of the most respected people from the Indian Esports scene, Aryaman Wasan, who is also the founder and CEO of Enigma Gaming, one of the top running Indian Esports organizations.

Recently, Enigma Gaming announced there move to Malaysia and Singapore for there Valorant roster, after dropping there South Asian Valorant roster at the end of 2022. For the fans of Enigma Gaming and general Indian Valorant fans, this was a very questionable move, as everyone of us knows that right now, Indian Esports scene is at a very nascent stage and it needs organizations like Enigma, to promote it for its own benefit and development. 

Aryaman, while agreeing to this fact, had his own counter argument, explaining his reasons for taking the tough decision of moving Enigma Valorant to Malaysia and Singapore, which recently turned out to be quite successful, after they beat BLEED Esports, in the group stages of VCL MYSG. 
He stated that since there move to MYSG, he has received a lot of DM's from fans and other pros, questioning his and the org's decision, and about what happened to there vision of growing the Indian Esports scene. Answering to this, he clarified that even though Enigma Gaming Valorant division has moved to MYSG, this does not mean that Enigma Gaming have taken an exit from India completely, rather, they will still have presence in India. 

Firstly, this move DOES NOT mean that Enigma Gaming is moving out of India/stopping our investments into developing and growing the Indian esports ecosystem.
(2/23)

— Aryaman Wasan (@aryamanwasan) February 18, 2023

He also said that they have started the preparations for developing an academy team in India, which will be announced in the coming months. Enigma, in no way have stopped investing into the Indian Esports scene and its development, and have promised to continue doing so.

We are, always have been and always will be committed to investing in developing the Indian ecosystem as much as possible. Efforts to set up an academy roster in India have already begun and we will be making that announcement over the coming months as well.

(3/23)

— Aryaman Wasan (@aryamanwasan) February 18, 2023

Further explaining his reasons for moving, he says that to develop the scene, one needs to do it sustainably, and expresses his gratitude towards Rushindra Sinha(Co-Founder and CEO - Global Esports) and VLT Sentinel(CEO - Velocity Gaming), for there continuous efforts with regards to developing the scene. He said that although he has tried to do his bit regarding the same as well. In order to run an organization which develops the scene rapidly, one needs investment, and for that, one needs continuous revenue to justify that investment. 

In order to truly help the scene develop in the long run, it is essential for an organisation to do so sustainably. Which requires extensive revenues to support the corresponding investment.

(6/23)

— Aryaman Wasan (@aryamanwasan) February 18, 2023

As previously claimed by Global Esports, Velocity Gaming, Godlike Esports and multiple other Indian organizations, running an org in India is super difficult, and also loss making, which is also the case for Enigma Gaming. Aryaman, there CEO also said that they are answerable to the stakeholders (i.e. there investors, there sponsors, anyone and everyone whose livelihood depends on them, and obviously, there fans). To justify one's investment, one needs to show similar revenue, which is not the case in India for most organizations, due to the unfortunate fact that two of the most popular games in India, BGMI and Free Fire, are currently banned, blocking all revenues coming from there. 

4) lastly, and probably most importantly, all our supporters who watch our games and cheer for our organisation.

(11/23)

— Aryaman Wasan (@aryamanwasan) February 18, 2023

He claims that they could have very easily invested in an Indian team this year, and many more years to come, but the question is that would that have been sustainable for all the stakeholders? Furthermore, being answerable to all the investors and sponsors, one needs to think about maximizing revenue, which hasn't been the case for all, forcing Enigma, to move out of India. 

At the end of the day I am the one that needs to give answers to all our stake holders. And if I’m not myself convinced on the sustainability of a big decision, I can’t earnestly pitch it to anyone else.

(14/23)

— Aryaman Wasan (@aryamanwasan) February 18, 2023

Again, this does not mean that Enigma Gaming are completely halting operations in India, rather, they have many spicy announcements racked up. He also said that Enigma Gaming have been an India first organization and will continue to be so.
According to him, the only way to maximize there revenue and hopefully break even, will be getting to the franchise league, which he seems is more possible in MYSG, another sub region of Asia Pacific. 

We believe the best way to create revenue streams and be sustainable is to make it to the franchise league and I believe our best chance of doing so in the short run is with our new roster.

(17/23)

— Aryaman Wasan (@aryamanwasan) February 18, 2023

To end it all, he says that if they ever reach there goal of the franchise league, they will be in a much better position which will ultimately help them develop the ecosystem far more than what they are already doing right now. 

For us, the move of Enigma Gaming from India to MYSG is completely justified, considering the business aspects of running an organization in India. Thanks to the unfortunate ban of BGMI and Free Fire in India, there have been very less monetization opportunities for org-runners in India, and if Enigma find moving to MYSG fit for them, then it is certainly right, and we should support them, regardless of where they play and with whom.

We wish the entire Enigma Gaming roster and the backend team, best of luck for the 2023 season!