Gaming
PUBG Ban In India: What’s next to fill the void?
KOLKATA: The Indian government’s move to pull the plug on PUBG mobile along with other 117 Chinese apps may have come as a rude shock for game aficionado. But gamers aren’t losing sleep over it. Many are quickly reskilling themselves to train guns, strategies, and experiment on other applications. However, it has also left a question for the brands which were investing on these platforms to target younger consumers, media planners seem less worried about the void. The game is banned on mobile, however the desktop version is still available.
Tech giant Tencent has lost nearly $34 billion of its market value within two days after the news surfaced. According to a report from Sensor Tower, PUBG has more than 175 million installations from India alone which accounts for 24 per cent of the total installations worldwide. The estimates clearly indicate that India was a huge market for the multiplayer battle royale game.
“The PUBG ban in India is a great opportunity for Indian and international game developers to win some ground. This is an opportune time for the developers of Fortnite, Call Of Duty, and on local soils, Rogue Heist to ramp up their infrastructure so that they can handle the surge of new users that they will start seeing,” Zoo Media CTO and Noesis.Tech founder Siddharth Bhansali says.
Dentsu Webchutney associate creative director Zubin Jauhari also speaks about the games like Call of Duty. “For brands that are exclusively seeking gaming collaborations, there are games like Call of Duty that they could look to along with some Indian brands as well, he opines. The immediate reach in terms of audience and other engagement metrics will naturally be lower, for the near future,” he opines.
India has a huge potential for esports. As per the recent industry reports, the industry was pegged at Rs 6,200 crore in 2019 and is slated to cross Rs 25,000 crore by 2022. Experts are witnessing a four-fold growth in the coming days in this sector which clearly indicates a huge opportunity.
“I believe this move affects Tencent more than anyone else, with several reports on how Tencent’s market value dropped right after the ban was announced. PUBG had a massive following in India, but this move will affect the e-sports industry only momentarily. It opens up the doors for competitor apps to try and capture the market and is a fantastic opportunity for the Indian gaming industry to try and fill the void,” Jauhari adds.
As soon as the news of the ban on PUBG mobile was announced, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar announced the launch of a multi-player action game called ‘Fearless And United-Guards’ or FAU-G. The game has been developed by nCore, a mobile games and interactive entertainment company, based out of Bengaluru. It is expected to by out by October end.
Supporting PM @narendramodi’s AtmaNirbhar movement, proud to present an action game,Fearless And United-Guards FAU-G. Besides entertainment, players will also learn about the sacrifices of our soldiers. 20% of the net revenue generated will be donated to @BharatKeVeer Trust #FAUG pic.twitter.com/Q1HLFB5hPt
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) September 4, 2020
The industry appears to be upbeat about the homegrown apps as it sees a great opportunity. Several reports suggest that the number of people playing online games is set to cross 300 million. The number has grown on the back of affordable internet and members joining from tier 2 & 3 cities.
“Currently, India is the no.1 country in terms of game downloads, but when it comes to revenue, a significant portion of this revenue is going outside the country. When we talk about digital goods, it is very easy for gaming companies which are settled abroad to add India to their market strategy, there is not much additional infrastructure that they need to invest in. However, if the gaming industry in India was to be dominated by homegrown apps, you can imagine the kind of ecosystem and the employment opportunities that it could generate,” Hitwicket VP-growth & co-founder Keerti Singh says.
While many experts are drawing similarity with TikTok’s ban as there are hardly any homegrown mobile gaming apps in India unlike short-video platforms. The names emerging as alternatives are Call of Duty(COD) Mobile, Free Fire, Fortnite, Valorant, however, none of them is developed by Indian organisations.
On the other hand, influential gamers of PUBG are probably busy developing their skills and building followers for their craft on these alternative platforms. Bhansali is of the view that brands need to act quickly to tap into gamers who are building a name for themselves on these alternative battle royale style online multiplayer games so that they can continue engaging this lucrative demographic.
“Streamers now will shift to other games. The only one that can replace PUBG mobile is Call of Duty mobile and that everyone is playing right now, all the big creators. Free Fire is also an option but the quality of gameplay is very bad for Free Fire. It’s basically a bit childish game. Conversions will definitely go to Call of Duty Mobile,” Trinity Gaming India founder COO Shivam Rao says.
TSM Entity team manager Sid Joshi also brings up an important point. According to him, banning PUBG mobile will not substantially help other games to grow other than of the same genre. It is barely going to help PC or console gaming as “a Cricket fanatic does not turn into Football enthusiast overnight.” However, Joshi adds that the gamers between the age of 19 to 25 will keep experimenting with similar games as many of them are stuck at home.
LXG e-sports and broadcasting director Kiran Noojibail also thinks on similar lines. “PC and console games are not going to have any significant impact as PUBG Mobile’s main audience were smartphone users,” opines Noojibail. However, he does not see any alternative yet in similar genre also.
Against the backdrop of a sinking economy, it is going to be very difficult as shifting to other game needs re-skilling. At the time of TikTok ban, influencers could land on another similar platform with the same set of skills.
No one can presume exact losses. “Obviously the move will impact the streamer community but as far as the people we manage are concerned, they are not complaining about it, as the decision is in the larger national interest. Everyone is in support of that. As far as brand integrations and partnerships are concerned, we are assuming that they will take a hit but it is still too early to say how big the losses would be,” Rao says.
He further adds that the major impact will be on the e-sports industry including the tournament organisers, people who are interested in lineups, boot camps and others who had tie-ups with the teams. “Those concerned groups also have to pay salaries to their players. Along with that, platforms and startups like Loco, Rio will be the worst impacted,” Rao mentions.
Noojibail also shared the same thought. He says, “A number of tournaments were also lined up which would affect the organisers’ revenue badly. Even sponsors have to re-strategise their plans. It will take at least take a couple of months before the storm calms a bit. It is a very substantial loss for the industry”.
(With inputs from Mansi Sharma)
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.
