Gaming
Gujarati gamers get their lingo fix as BGMS streams in local style
MUMBAI: When Battlegrounds Mobile India Masters Series (BGMS) Season 4 kicked off this week, it wasn’t just the 48 teams vying for a share of the Rs 1.5 crore prize pool that had fans buzzing, it was the voice. For the first time, the action came alive in Gujarati, with a co-produced feed by Nodwin Gaming and the Duolingo English Test (DET), opening to a roaring 165,000 views on Day 1.
Running from 18 August to 14 September, the season features 164 matches streamed with Gujarati commentary from popular casters Jayesh Prajapati (Engineer The Gamer), Vinod Keshwala (Firestar) and Jitendra Patel. Fans can also dive deeper through exclusive watch parties hosted by Gujarati streamers, adding local flavour to the high-stakes drama. The initiative signals a big leap in esports’ regional push, making the digital battlefield more relatable for Gujarat’s swelling community of players and spectators.
DET’s role in the collaboration reflects its knack for speaking the language of Gen Z literally and figuratively. With its English proficiency test already accepted by nearly 6,000 universities worldwide, DET has become a go-to for Gujarat’s study-abroad aspirants. Now, by stepping into esports, it taps into a state that is both a powerhouse of gaming viewership and one of India’s top markets for global education. By blending entertainment and opportunity, BGMS and DET are proving that whether it’s cracking headshots or cracking admissions, Gujarat’s youth like to play and win in their own language.
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.
