Nodwin Gaming posts Rs 658 crore revenue in FY26

MUMBAI: From gaming arenas to music festivals, Nodwin seems to have found the ultimate cheat code turning fandom into a full-blown business engine. Nodwin Gaming reported consolidated revenue of Rs 658 crore for FY26, clocking a 25 per cent organic year-on-year growth as the esports and youth entertainment company moved sharply into profitability ahead of its anticipated IPO journey. The company posted an EBITDA profit of Rs 21 crore for the financial year, a major turnaround from the EBITDA loss of Rs 14 crore recorded in FY25. The improvement came on the back of portfolio restructuring, tighter operational discipline and stronger performances across its live events, content and intellectual property businesses.

The company said the turnaround was aided by the de-consolidation of loss-making subsidiary Freaks4U, alongside momentum across its gaming, music, creator and youth entertainment verticals.

Nodwin has increasingly built its business around two interconnected pillars Live and Content. Its live business now stretches across esports tournaments, music festivals, fan conventions and brand activations, while the content arm spans digital programming, scripted formats and broadcast properties.

That flywheel appears to be working. Content fuels fandom, fandom fuels community, and community eventually opens the door to monetisation through events, partnerships, commerce and original IP creation.

FY26 proved particularly busy for Nodwin’s flagship properties. NH7 Weekender returned with a sold-out Pune edition after being repositioned as the “Festival of India”, while Comic Con India expanded aggressively from eight cities to eleven, adding Kochi, Guwahati, Gurugram and Jaipur to newer markets such as Chennai and Pune.

Internationally too, the company kept levelling up. Nodwin expanded its esports footprint through initiatives such as Swahili Esports Champions 2026 in Uganda and Live Matters Hong Kong 2026. It was also appointed India’s official National Team Partner for the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026, where it will manage the country’s competitive contingent.

The company further widened its partnership portfolio during the year with projects including MLMS in partnership with MOBA Legends, OMEN activations at CES 2026 and the PUBG Mobile Club Open Eastern Europe 2026.

Its earlier investment in StarLadder also began paying ecosystem dividends, contributing to the successful execution of the Counter-Strike Major in Budapest.

As part of its IPO readiness push, Nodwin strengthened its leadership bench with the appointments of Manish Agarwal, Arnd Benninghoff and Sidharth Kedia, aiming to bolster governance, institutional capability and long-term capital strategy.

The company also said it remains in active discussions with strategic and financial investors as part of ongoing fundraising efforts to support expansion plans.

Operationally, FY26 was equally about tightening the screws behind the scenes. Nodwin implemented a disciplined headcount strategy while scaling output across business lines and rolled out more than 10 AI-led workflow tools across finance, HR, legal, sales and production functions.

The broader ambition, however, stretches far beyond gaming tournaments alone. Nodwin is positioning itself as a youth entertainment infrastructure platform operating across gaming, esports, creators, live experiences and digital culture with a particular focus on emerging markets and the Global South.

With Rs 658 crore in revenue, expanding global operations and profitability finally loading on screen, Nodwin’s IPO storyline now appears less like a side quest and more like the main game.