Gaming
PlayTV formal launch on 19 May
MUMBAI: Essel Group will announce the launch of its 24-hour interactive and gaming channel PlayTV on 19 May in Mumbai.
Promotional and distribution campaigns will follow the announcement. Essel will be showcasing an extensive presentation on how gaming is merged with television’s interactivity at the launch.
The channel, which was soft-launched on 1 April, has become a fully functioning channel since 18 April.
Along with music programmes, PlayTV provides gaming news, contests, bidding and shopping. The channel runs on real time basis through SMS, emails and chats.
PlayTV was simultaneously launched on cable and Essel Group’s DTH offering Dish TV. The free-to-air channel is available across the country on Siti Cable. Efforts to get the channel in other networks are currently on.
Gaming
Nodwin Gaming sells EVO stake to RTS
Fighting game tourney eyes global push, Nodwin partners on emerging markets amid 58 per cent revenue surge to Rs 530.3 crore.
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming just pulled off the ultimate combo breaker ditching its full stake in EVO, the fighting game world’s undisputed champ, to long-time ally RTS. Announced on 20 February 2026, the move frees up firepower for EVO’s global scaling dreams, with hefty investments on the horizon. Nodwin isn’t vanishing though; it’ll stick around as a key partner, flexing its regional muscle, ops know-how, and community ties to grow the tourney in emerging markets like the Global South.
EVO, a two-decade FGC (Fighting Game Community) cornerstone, started as a grassroots huddle and morphed into esports royalty drawing players, publishers, and superfans worldwide. RTS steps up to steward this next-level expansion, honouring the community vibe while plotting world domination.
For Nodwin, it’s a savvy portfolio shuffle: honing in on high-growth zones, local IPs, and ecosystem builds. The timing’s spot-on, they flipped EBITDA positive in Q3 2025, boasting 58 per cent year-on-year revenue growth to Rs 530.3 crore (USD 58.5 million) over the first nine months of FY26.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder and managing director, Akshat Rathe, framed it neatly, “EVO represents the passion, resilience, and spirit of the fighting game community… For Nodwin, this is a strategic step that sharpens our focus on markets where gaming is witnessing extraordinary momentum.”
More details on EVO’s emerging-market playbook with Nodwin drop soon. In esports terms, it’s like trading a legendary skin for upgrades smart meta shift that keeps everyone in the arena swinging.
