Gaming
Reliance teams up with Blast to storm India’s booming esports arena
MUMBAI: Reliance Industries’ wholly-owned subsidiary Rise Worldwide has joined forces with European esports powerhouse Blast to form a joint venture that aims to revolutionise India’s nascent but rapidly expanding competitive gaming landscape.
The partnership will leverage Blast’s tournament expertise and publisher relationships to bring global esports properties to Indian shores while developing bespoke competitions for the local market—a digital playground that already boasts a staggering 600 million gamers, representing 18 per cent of the world’s button-bashers.
India’s gaming market, currently valued at $3.8bn, is projected to rocket to $9.2bn by 2029, growing at a blistering 19 per cent annually. Meanwhile, the global esports market is expected to surge from $2.8bn to $16.7bn by 2033, suggesting there are digital gold mines yet to be excavated.
“India is one of the most exciting and fastest-growing gaming markets in the world,” said Blast chief executive Robbie Douek, whose company currently works with gaming titans including Epic Games, Valve, Riot Games, Krafton and Ubisoft across popular titles with a combined monthly player base exceeding 350 million.
The new venture will capitalise on Blast’s production prowess and intellectual property portfolio while tapping into Jio’s technological muscle and distribution network via the JioGames platform. Services will span tournament management, targeted marketing, production and broadcasting—essentially creating a full-service esports juggernaut.
“With this partnership, Indian esports will be able to realise its full potential,” said Reliance Sports head Devang Bhimjyani.
The timing appears impeccable, as the Indian government recently granted official recognition to esports by declaring it part of the “multi-sports event” category, providing legitimacy to a pursuit once dismissed as mere child’s play.
Blast, known for producing tournaments that fill arenas and generate billions of views across 150+ territories, will now bring its show-stopping production values to a country where cricket has traditionally dominated sporting consciousness. With planned arena stops in global cities like London, Singapore, Austin and Rio in 2025, the addition of Indian venues seems a natural next step in the company’s expansion strategy.
For India’s growing army of competitive gamers, the partnership offers tantalising prospects: international exposure, improved tournament infrastructure, and potentially, a shot at the multi-million dollar prize pools that have transformed gaming nerds into millionaire celebrities elsewhere in the world.
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.
