Gaming
S8UL Gaming Fest wows Bangalore with thrilling gamers and fans on day one
Mumbai: India’s vibrant gaming community united for an electrifying start to the highly anticipated S8UL Gaming Fest at the Manpho Convention Centre in Bangalore. The two-day fest which is organised by S8UL, the nation’s foremost Esports organisation in partnership with the Esports Club, attracted an impressive number of fans who got the opportunity to not only meet their beloved gaming idols but also participate in exciting activities on Saturday.
The gaming enthusiasts were treated to an unforgettable experience, giveaways, meet and greet opportunities with the country’s leading gamers, cosplay competitions with bumper prizes, and exclusive merchandise to lay their hands on. Featuring a plethora of activities, the S8UL Gaming Fest also headlined a highly competitive Valorant tournament.
The tournament witnessed the prominent gamers of S8UL including SnaxGaming, PayalGaming, Regaltos, 8Bit Mamba, 8Bit Sid, and KrutikaPlays entertaining fans with a breath-taking display of gaming action. Following the Valorant matchups, the gamers witnessed a live faceoff between notable names Mortal and Scout who took the excitement to the next level, in an enthralling battle of FIFA amongst themselves.
Notably, the gaming fest which had free entry for all, enabled fans to immerse in the world of premium gaming experiences with VR and racing simulators as well as chances to try their hands on the latest high-end gaming devices from Lenovo and Intel.
The gaming extravaganza will continue on Sunday too, promising even more fascinating activities for the gaming enthusiasts along with an insightful panel discussion on Esports and Youtube to educate the fans regarding the gaming content creators’ ecosystem and provide them with valuable insights.
In addition to the panel discussions, exclusive tournaments of FIFA, Mortal Kombat, and Valorant will also take place for the fans to relish throughout the day. While the FIFA and Mortal Kombat tournaments were also organised on the first day offering a prize pool of Rs 50,000, the Valorant tournament will boast a lucrative prize pool of Rs 2 lakhs.
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.
