Gaming
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is coming back to India
Mumbai: As per the official announcement by game publisher Krafton, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is coming back to India after a 10-month suspension.
As BGMI is a mobile-centric game, According to the latest data provided by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), India is currently home to over 430 million mobile gamers and is estimated to grow to 650 million by 2025. As per Niko Partner’s India Games Market Report 2022, India is a mobile-first market with 98.8 per cent of gamers playing on the platform, accounting for 85 per cent of total market revenue. Data costs in India are the lowest in the world. The game clocked about $33 million in in-app spending from July 2021 to July 2022.
8Bit Creatives founder & CEO Animesh Agarwal, India’s esports consulting and talent agency boasts of top BGMI content creators said, “The weekend fever has never been higher for all of us at 8Bit Creatives. The game represents so much for the gaming community, and we are thankful to the team at Krafton, Indian Govt. Officials & everyone else who has been working relentlessly to make this possible. This is sure to infuse new energy into the Indian Gaming Industry, and I am sure the whole industry is going to join forces to make it bigger than ever before. We are looking forward to accelerating this journey, with renewed vigour. We are most thankful to the players, and audiences, who showed great resilience during this period and continued to support the gamers. Hopefully, all the patience will be well rewarded and all of us get to work hard, and party harder as we take Indian gaming to newer heights. Personally, for me, I want to take a moment to feel that it’s happening, before going back to grind, and making more interesting things happen in the industry!”
Asian Esports Federation (AESF) director and Esports Federation of India Vice President Lokesh Suji said, “The long-awaited return of BGMI after a 10-month hiatus is a much-needed boost for the Esports community in our country. We express our gratitude to the government of India for bringing back the game for the nation’s passionate gaming audience and promoting the Esports ecosystem through this development. While the game is set to undergo certain changes to ensure a safe and enjoyable gaming experience for users upon its comeback on a trial period, it is encouraging to see the government bringing these safety measures for the youth of the country. With Esports getting official recognition from the government and the community adapting well to the absence of BGMI by expanding other titles, we eagerly anticipate the exponential growth that the sector will experience now that the game is back in the picture.
Alpha Zegus founder & director Rohit Agarwal the next-gen marketing agency specialising in the domains of gaming & lifestyle said, “BGMIs return is definitely big news for the entire industry, and everyone is thrilled about the good old days coming back. There has been a dry spell in the mobile competitive scenario for a while now, and this announcement is definitely making many stakeholders happy. Tournaments of all scales can restart, and players/content creators who have been on pause can resume. However, we need to be very cautious and responsible towards the rules set by the government. We’ve had the misfortune of the game going the previous 2 times, but if we all approach this carefully, it’ll be here to stay, and here to win!”
The Gamer’s Social Network Qlan co-founder & CEO Sagar Nair said, “The news that was eagerly awaited by the Indian esports community has finally been broken! It is great to see that the patience and perseverance on Krafton’s part to ensure that India’s most loved esports title returns in accordance with the Meity guidelines has paid off. Gamers have long waited for this moment and their happiness will be seen and heard loud and clear in the coming days. With the Indian authorities sure to keep a close eye on the game during the issued three month trial, it will have to uphold the guidelines that are demanded. On a macro level, this could potentially set the tone for future esports titles being released in India. Hoping for a long and continued stay for BMGI with no further complications, as the community rejoices and gets back to the grind.”
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.
