iWorld
PVR and Nodwin Gaming bring e-sports to cinemas
Mumbai: PVR Ltd and e-sports company Nodwin Gaming on Monday announced their partnership to launch India’s first in-cinema e-sports live tournament together. The pilot will commence with the popular game “Battlegrounds Mobile India” (BGMI) and going forward it will include games from different genres, said the statement.
This initiative is expected to fast-track e-sports entertainment’s growth trajectory in India by combining the appeal of e-sports gaming with the magic of big-screen experience. The quarter-final, semi-final, and finals of the cups, in each participating city, will be broadcasted in select PVR cinemas, along with live streams on various digital platforms, including Nodwin Facebook page and YouTube page and the PVR mobile app.
“Nodwin Gaming has always emphasised on the importance of reinforcing grassroots development that can be a strong and reliable foundation for esports, and this property is a step in that direction,” said Nodwin Gaming MD & co-founder Akshat Rathee. “City-level penetration of professional esports leads to solid exposure for the grassroots ecosystem and as seen in the past, the more exposed the grassroots is, the better it gets at the higher tiers. This, in turn, paves the way for the collective growth of all tiers of professional players.”
Commenting on the partnership he added, “Our association with PVR cinemas opens a corridor towards mainstreaming esports and placing it right in the middle of the entertainment industry. E-sports as an upcoming medium of interactive entertainment has had its fair share of visibility in the jam-packed arenas but it’s about time that we bring action to the silver screen. Nodwin, along with building grassroots, will also give its audience a premium watching experience with this partnership.”
According to a statement, the partnership introduces larger-than-life experiences for all e-sports fans across the country and will be able to participate in online e-sports cups and in-cinema tournaments with separate prize pools for each city.
“At PVR, we strive to continually evolve as an entertainment destination, offering our customers the opportunity to have an entertaining escape into more than just big films,” stated PVR Ltd joint managing director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli. “Our immersive environment lends itself particularly well to the gaming community, putting players in the universes in which they are competing.”
“Our purpose at PVR is to gather, grow and entertain communities. With us becoming a part of the Indian e-sports eco-system, we have the opportunity to serve our purpose by giving PVR communities another entertaining way to gather on our esports platform. Nodwin team has a relentless passion for gaming, we are delighted to be partnering with them on this initiative,” noted PVR Ltd chief of strategy Kamal Gianchandani.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
