Gaming
AIGDF to host Inaugural Game Developers Conference Consilience 2023
Mumbai: The All India Game Developers’ Forum (AIGDF), the largest body representing Indian online game developers, is gearing up to host its first-ever gaming conference, Consilience 2023, in collaboration with the Law and Technology Society, National Law School of India University, Bangalore. The conference is set to take place on April 21 at the Bangalore International Centre, Bengaluru, and will explore India’s burgeoning gaming industry. AIGDF is a not-for-profit collective under the aegis of the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), the apex industry body for online skill gaming in India.
Consilience 2023 marks the first conference of its kind to be held in the wake of the notification of the new online gaming rules by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The conference will shed light on the legal and regulatory requirements that must be met, growth strategies to be adopted, and policy needs for the industry to reach its full potential.
The speaker lineup boasts some of the biggest names in the Indian gaming industry, such as Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn; IndiGG co-founder Manish Agarwal; Mobile Premier League (MPL) co-founder & CEO Sai Srinivas and JetSynthesys Gaming CEO – Anuj Tandon. They will share their insights on how we can make India a global gaming powerhouse in line with our Hon’ble PM’s vision.
Another important topic that will be covered is “New Businesses & Strategic M&A”. Speakers such as Nodwin Gaming – co-founder Akshat Rathee; Nazara – head of corporate development Anupriya Sinha Das and Good Game Exchange (GGX) COO Rachit Rastogi, will explore the challenges and opportunities for new and existing gaming businesses, with a focus on navigating legal, policy, and investment considerations.
The conference will also focus on how businesses can navigate the new regulatory environment and decode the implications of the new online gaming rules. Legal eagles such as Gameskraft group general counsel Joyjyoti Misra; Mayhem Studios general counsel Ritika Chatterjee and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Law partner Arun Prabhu will speak on topics like Taxation in gaming and online gaming regulations.
AIGF CEO Roland Landers said, “As India’s gaming industry continues to grow and mature, we believe it is important to have a platform that brings together diverse voices from various parts of the sector like business, law and technology to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. With the recent regulatory developments in the gaming sector, it is imperative that stakeholders engage in meaningful dialogue to create a progressive and sustainable roadmap for the industry to thrive. We are excited to host this conference and explore innovative ideas to unlock India’s potential as a global gaming powerhouse.”
India’s online gaming industry has seen remarkable growth over the past few years, thanks to the increasing availability of low-cost smartphones and minimal tariff internet. India is the fastest-growing market for gaming which is expected to grow from $2.8 billion in 2022 to $5 billion in 2025. Currently, there are over 500 gaming studios building games for more than 400 million Indian gamers. With the Indian government’s recent push to regulate the industry with a progressive framework, gaming will become a key pillar of the country’s digital economy and will accelerate the ‘Create in India’ movement.
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.
