Gaming
India’s gaming sector poised for explosive growth: Winzo report at GDC, 2025
MUMBAI: India’s online gaming companies are gearing up for a blockbuster debut on public markets that could unlock a whopping $26bn in investor value, according to a report unveiled yesterday at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.
The India Gaming Market Report launched by WinZO Games and the Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council (IEIC) at the India Pavilion, offers a tantalising glimpse into the sector’s meteoric rise. Currently worth $3.7bn, the industry is expected to surge at a 19.6 per cent compound annual growth rate to reach $9.1bn by 2029—and a staggering $60bn by 2034.
“India stands at the cusp of a remarkable transformation in the global gaming ecosystem,” declared San Francisco consul general of India Srikar Reddy at the launch. The report suggests the sector’s public market potential could balloon to $63bn by 2029 if projections hold true.
The document paints a picture of a market primed for explosive growth. With 591 million gamers—roughly 20 per cent of the global total—and approximately 11.2 billion mobile game downloads, India’s digital playground is expanding rapidly. The country now boasts around 1,900 gaming companies employing 130,000 skilled professionals.
Foreign investors are certainly not playing around, having poured $3 billion into the sector. A hefty 85 per cent of this foreign direct investment has flowed into the pay-to-play segment, which has cracked the once-vexing challenge of monetising Indian gaming assets.
Nazara Technologies, India’s lone publicly listed gaming company, currently commands the highest premium among global gaming stocks. Apply similar multiples to the broader sector, and you get the eye-watering $26bn valuation potential cited in the report.
“The online gaming industry in India is on an unprecedented growth path,” said WinZO co-founder Paavan Nanda, who launched the report alongside co-founder Saumya Singh Rathore. The duo’s company is no small player itself, boasting over 250 million registered users across India and Brazil.
The report also highlights how Indian gamers overwhelmingly favour casual and hyper-casual games developed in regional languages, heralding what it calls “the renaissance of Indic content ‘Made in India, for the World’.”
Despite its impressive growth, India’s gaming market currently represents just 1.1 per cent of the $300bn global market—suggesting plenty of room to level up. If projections hold, the user base could swell to 952 million by 2029, creating over two million jobs along the way.
The report’s launch coincided with the second edition of the India Pavilion at GDC, showcasing games from major players and indie developers alike. The pavilion was a joint effort by WinZO, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the Game Developer’s Association of India, and Nazara Technologies.
In the game of global tech dominance, India’s gaming industry is clearly playing to win.
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.
