Gaming
Game set match Lightfury plays a straight bat on the global stage
MUMBAI: Cricket may be played on grass, but its next big contest is clearly being lined up on screens. Lightfury Games, India’s emerging AAA-focused game-tech studio, has struck partnerships with two of the sport’s most storied properties, The Ashes and Australia’s Big Bash League, marking a rare global breakthrough for an Indian gaming company. The associations signal Lightfury’s intent to build a cricket gaming franchise with genuine international ambition, led by its upcoming esports title E-Cricket.
The collaborations doubled up as a global unveiling platform for LightFury’s refreshed E-Cricket logo, which debuted during live tournament broadcasts. The new identity adopts a sharper, more athletic design language, mirroring the studio’s shift from early-stage development into a more assertive, outward-facing phase focused on scale, competitiveness and global relevance.
Visibility was not symbolic alone. Lightfury featured through virtual pitch mat integrations during live match broadcasts, embedding the E-Cricket brand directly into globally followed cricket events. The on-air placements delivered exposure across key cricket markets, including Australia and England, positioning the Indian studio within the visual grammar of elite international sport rather than niche gaming spaces.
For LightFury, the associations represent more than branding wins. They mark a meaningful step into the global cricket ecosystem, aligning the studio alongside established sporting platforms as it works towards creating a long-term, internationally competitive cricket gaming IP rooted in India. The move underscores how Indian studios are increasingly looking beyond domestic audiences to build franchises designed for worldwide play.
Commenting on the development, Lightfury Games CEO and co-founder Karan Shroff said cricket deserves a world-class competitive gaming title with global reach. He added that E-Cricket is being built as a high-fidelity, skill-driven experience, with expansion plans firmly focused on major cricket markets such as Australia and England.
Taken together, the Ashes and BBL associations reflect the payoff from Lightfury’s early groundwork and signal the beginning of a broader global rollout. As the studio edges closer to introducing E-Cricket to international audiences, the message is clear: India is no longer just exporting cricket talent on the field, but is increasingly shaping how the game is played in the digital arena too.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
