Gaming
Lightfury hits it out of the park with e-cricket reveal at GDC 2025
MUMBAI: Lightfury Games is taking India’s gaming industry global, announcing its highly anticipated AAA title E-Cricket at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2025 in San Francisco. The teaser and demo, unveiled today, showcase a groundbreaking, high-fidelity cricket gaming experience built on Unreal Engine 5, with next-gen visuals and AI-powered mechanics.
Developed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), E-Cricket leverages Amazon Gamelift Streams to bring console-quality gameplay to virtually any device with a browser with no high-end hardware required. Designed for both Esports athletes and cricket lovers, the game promises a competitive multiplayer ecosystem with live tournaments, immersive gameplay, and innovative mechanics that redefine the sport in a virtual arena.
“AWS is proud to support LightFury Games as they showcase their ground-breaking work on this new title at GDC,” said AWS head of immersive technologies Chris Lee. “Amazon GameLift Streams empowers studios like LightFury Games to deliver exceptional experiences without hardware limitations and unlocks new opportunities for game developers worldwide.”
“It’s an impactful opportunity for an Indian AAA game studio to showcase at GDC, marking an incredible milestone for the industry,” said Lightfury Games CPTO and co-founder Anurag Banerjee. “Amazon GameLift Streams is going to revolutionise mobile gaming in India – the world’s second-largest mobile market. By delivering high-fidelity visuals on mobile devices through any web browser (without app installations) and requiring only high-speed internet, this technology makes premium gaming more accessible and affordable. It reshapes the industry, unlocking bold new opportunities for gameplay, engagement, and monetisation, allowing us to take this game to the masses like never before,” he added.
“We have announced the release of a blockbuster AAA E-Cricket game made in India, for India and the world. We are fully committed to launching it in early 2026 and are moving full steam ahead. With the right combination of world-class tech, and global and Indian talent, we are confident of building India’s AAA gaming ecosystem, and positioning the country as a key player on the global Esports stage,” said Lightfury Games CEO and co-founder Karan Shroff.
With E-Cricket, LightFury Games is swinging for the fences, aiming to bring world-class gaming innovation to India and beyond.
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.
