Gaming
Krafton launches PUBG successor Battlegrounds Mobile India
Mumbai: South Korean video game company Krafton has officially launched Battlegrounds Mobile India in the country, a successor to the popular mobile game PUBG that was blocked by the government last year. Battlegrounds Mobile India is meant to be a replacement for PUBG Mobile.
Krafton announced the launch via an official post on Facebook. “Fasten your seatbelts and get your squads ready, we welcome one and all to the official launch of BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA!,” the post reads. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the fans in India who have been waiting for the official launch of Krafton’s BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA. As of July 2, 2021, thanks to your support, BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA has been officially released.”
The new mobile game, developed exclusively for gaming enthusiasts and fans in India, had received 40 million pre-registrations that went live on May 18, 2021, the company said in a statement.
PUBG Mobile was one of the more than 200 Chinese apps banned in India last October following the Galwan Valley clash with China. Battlegrounds Mobile India had recently also stirred controversy over the alleged misuse of Indian players’ data by sending it to servers in China. The company, at that time, had said it will continue to closely monitor and protect any data being transferred to “unexpected and restricted IP addresses”. The company had also said it is working to fully comply with the Indian laws and regulations.
“We at Krafton are delighted to introduce Battlegrounds Mobile India for our fans in India today. Designed exclusively for our Indian fans and gamers, Battlegrounds Mobile India will provide a superlative gaming experience,” Krafton Inc CEO CH Kim said speaking on the launch of its new game, as mentioned by PTI.
“This is just the beginning of a series of new content, collaborations, and esports tournaments coming users’ way and the company will strive to ensure that fans and community in India can fully enjoy the battlegrounds experiences”, he added.
Krafton recently also made its first India investment in Mumbai-based game live-streaming startup Loco. The company was among the multiple investors in the startup’s first-ever fundraising.
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.
