Gaming
Flipkart dares gamers to name it and claim it with BGMI challenge
MUMBAI: What’s in a name? If you’re a gamer this Big Billion Days, potentially your entire wishlist. Flipkart has pulled off one of its quirkiest surprises yet, teaming up with Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) for a campaign that proves true to its tagline Yahan Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai.
Every festive season, gamers flock to Flipkart to upgrade their rigs whether it’s snagging a new gaming chair, upgrading to a beast of a device, or grabbing peripherals to boost their play. But in 2025, Flipkart is cranking the stakes up several notches. The prize? The ultimate gamer’s wishlist, free. The challenge? Name2claim, a dare so outlandish it could only be born in BGMI land.
Conceptualised by DDB Mudra, Name2claim taps into the colourful culture of gamer tags the quirky, witty, often bizarre usernames that have become the identity badge of millions of BGMI players. To win, players must go all in and make their gamer tag their real, official name.
To make it legit, Flipkart has built a dedicated platform www.name2claim.in where gamers can “file” for a name change by drafting a classified ad announcing their new moniker. Flipkart will even publish the ad on their behalf, officially stamping the transformation. In other words: prove your passion, and the loot is yours.
Flipkart vice president for marketing & growth Pratik Shetty explained the madness: “Gaming is one of the fastest-growing passions in India, and BGMI has built a community that thrives on creativity and fun. With Name2claim, we wanted to celebrate that culture in a way only Flipkart can by turning something as quirky as a gamer tag into a real identity. It’s a light-hearted challenge that shows how far gamers will go for what they love, and a reminder that during Big Billion Days, yahan sach-much kuch bhi ho sakta hai.”
Backing the idea, DDB Mudra group group creative directors Gagandeep Bindra and Rahul Arcot added, “BGMI fans are one of the most fun-loving and creative communities out there. It shows in their gamer names and the way they engage. And one thing they love more than playing? A challenge. With Name2claim, we gave them the most unexpected dare change your real name to your gamer tag and win the ultimate wishlist. Crazy? Absolutely. Possible? Only for a true BGMI fan.”
The campaign has been brought to life with a quirky film stitched entirely from in-game footage, showcasing the randomness, fun, and chaos of the BGMI universe. Fans can watch it on Youtube or catch the buzz spreading fast on Instagram, where reels and reactions are already trending.
With over 100 million BGMI users in India and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale attracting millions more, the crossover feels like a cultural flashpoint where e-commerce meets esports. And as Flipkart proves once again sometimes, all it takes to unlock the deal of your dreams is a name.
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.
