Nazara FY26 EBITDA jumps 66 per cent as gaming business hits new scale

MUMBAI: Nazara Technologies has levelled up its earnings story in FY26, posting its highest-ever EBITDA as the gaming company doubled down on its core business and expanded its global footprint across mobile, PC, console and offline gaming.

The company reported FY26 revenue of Rs 1,829 crore, up 13 per cent year-on-year, while EBITDA surged 66 per cent to Rs 255 crore. Nazara also generated pre-tax operating cash flow of Rs 213 crore, marking an 81 per cent rise over the previous year. EBITDA-to-OCF conversion stood at 84 per cent, signalling stronger operational efficiency as the business scaled.

Momentum gathered pace in the March quarter. In Q4FY26, Nazara reported revenue of Rs 398 crore following the deconsolidation of Nodwin Gaming. Quarterly EBITDA rose 52 per cent year-on-year to Rs 78 crore, while EBITDA margins nearly doubled to 19.5 per cent, expanding by around 970 basis points from the same period last year.

Gaming is now firmly at the centre of the company’s strategy. EBITDA contribution from the gaming business climbed sharply from 56 per cent in FY25 to 90 per cent in FY26, reflecting Nazara’s increasing focus on higher-margin gaming operations.

The company also widened its international gaming portfolio during the year. Its acquisition of Bluetile and BestPlay, described as Nazara’s largest acquisition so far, added 17 casual mobile gaming intellectual properties and 22 million monthly active users to the platform. The company expects the acquisition to significantly boost both revenue and EBITDA in FY27 once fully consolidated.

Several of Nazara’s existing gaming properties also delivered stronger performances during the year. Kiddopia continued to record subscriber growth for a second straight quarter while improving unit economics. Animal Jam expanded margins and extended its presence onto Roblox. Meanwhile, Fusebox Games scaled its narrative gaming engine across multiple reality television-based IPs, with additional launches planned for FY27.

Nazara’s PC and console publishing business also crossed a major milestone, with Human: Fall Flat surpassing 58 million lifetime units sold globally.

According to the company, much of this growth has been driven by its internal Centres of Excellence model, which integrates user acquisition, data analytics, artificial intelligence, growth and product capabilities across gaming studios and acquired IPs.

Commenting on the results, Nazara Technologies joint managing director and chief executive officer Nitish Mittersain said, “FY26 was a pivotal year for Nazara. We delivered our highest-ever EBITDA at Rs 255 crores, with EBITDA growing 66 per cent year-on-year and Q4 EBITDA margins reaching 19.5 per cent. Nazara today operates at a materially different scale than it did 12 months ago.”

He added that the company’s operating leverage is now compounding as the platform expands globally across gaming formats and geographies.

Nazara also strengthened its board during the quarter with the appointment of Mithun Sacheti, founder of CaratLane, as non-executive director, and Muraarie Rajan as independent director. The company said the appointments bring additional expertise in entrepreneurship, consumer brand building, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic advisory.

With a larger global gaming portfolio, improving margins and a growing focus on AI-enabled gaming infrastructure, Nazara heads into FY27 betting that its next growth level may already be loading