iWorld
Ready Player Me partners with blockchain-based video streaming service Mzaalo
Mumbai: Leading avatar creation platform Ready Player Me has announced a collaboration with blockchain-based video streaming service Mzaalo.
Following this partnership, Mzaalo will offer a special series of Ready Player Me avatars based on selected IP from iconic movies on the platform to all users across its iOS and Android apps.
Launched by Xfinite, Mzaalo is a new video on-demand service which used Ready Player Me avatars earlier this year to promote the motion picture release of ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’. Rewarding users with Mzaalo coins which are exclusive to the platform, in return for watching movies, the company plans to give users access to an even wider range of customization assets that will become unlockable for avatars using the in-app currency.
Talking about the partnership with Ready Play Me Xfinite COO Vikram Tanna commented, “Digital avatars are a stepping stone to the metaverse revolution. We constantly strive to deliver immersive experiences to Mzaalo users, and our partnership with Ready Player Me enables us to take our gamified entertainment ecosystem to the next level. Mzaalo and Ready Player Me are powered by cutting-edge technology, and we are confident that this innovative collaboration will enhance user experiences for both platforms.
Speaking on this collaboration Ready Player Me CEO Timmu Toke said, “We are delighted to be bringing avatars from Ready Player Me to Mzaalo. With such a great blend of interactivity, gamification and entertainment, we feel this is the perfect partnership and will help our avatars reach a larger audience than ever before. This is our next step in connecting like-minded companies to the metaverse. We have more developments on the horizon and are excited to share what’s in the pipeline very soon.”
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.
