Seismic Shift
Tag: India
Hot Five
Hot Five: Mobile Games Awards winners revealed, India bans real-money games, and NextBeat shutting down Beatstar
Regulation Ramps Up
India bans real-money games but looks to legitimise esports as competitive sport
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Funding News
SuperGaming raises $15m to fuel global expansion of Indus Battle Royale
Funds will go towards game development, talent acquisition, and original IP creation
Week In Views
Why acquisitions fail, Netflix Games' investment plans, and the big H1 2025 genre analysis | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Strategic Move
Nazara spins off Nodwin Gaming ahead of fresh funding round
The new capital raise will dilute Nazara’s stake in Nodwin to below 50%
Global Ambitions
Can India's Nazara really crack $10 billion?
CEO and joint MD Nitish Mittersain discusses the company's key acquisitions, why M&A fails, and the future of India's games market
Market Growth
India’s mobile games market booms with 8.45bn installs
In-app purchase revenue remains modest at just over $400m
New Offerings
Meta launches gaming accelerator to empower Indian developers
Program will support 20 to 30 emerging Indian game developers and studios in its initial phase
Funding News
Team Angels launches to back early-stage startups in Mumbai
The initiative offers equity funding between ₹40 lakhs ($45,000) and ₹1.5 crore ($175,000)
Revenue Rise
Nazara’s FY25 revenue up 43% to $190m after pivot to "high margin" games segments
The publisher’s games revenue increased by 95% year-over-year in Q4
Esports Growth
Banijay Asia teams up with Nodwin Gaming to boost esports and youth entertainment in India
“This is just the beginning of a bold new chapter in gaming and youth content,” said Nodwin co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee
Cross-platform Curve
Nazara acquires UK publisher Curve Games for $28.9m
The deal will see Nazara take 100% ownership of Curve from Catalis Group
Hot Five
Hot Five: Apple’s DMA violation, Discord CEO steps down, and Blue Ocean Games launches $30m fund
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Games Incubator
Krafton’s Gaming Incubator taps six Indian startups for second cohort
Developers will receive financial support ranging from $50,000 to $150,000
Indian Iphones
Apple airlifted $2bn worth of iPhones from India in March to evade Trump tariffs
The imports marked a substantial increase from January and February
Indian Investment
Krafton acquires controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile for $14 million
JetSynthesys will remain a significant minority investor
Investing In India
Qila Games raises $1m to develop hybridcasual games tailored to Indian players
Funds will go towards creating new IPs and expanding its games portfolio
Funding For Games
Felicity Games raises $3m to boost Indian game publishing and global expansion
Publisher aims to provide Indian studios with the tools and support to compete globally.
Interview
How STAN aims to become India's Discord
STAN CEO and co-founder Parth Chadha talks building a Discord competitor, untapped opportunities, and identifying gaps in India's games industry.
Investment News
Triple Tap Games secures $1.2m for hybridcasual puzzle games
The team is led by former Crazy Labs and Super Huge Studios staff
M&a
Nazara subsidiary Nodwin acquires 93% stake in AFK gaming for $900,000
The acquisition makes AFK Gaming a fully-owned subsidiary of Nodwin Gaming
Job News
Bitkraft Ventures recruits ex-JetSynthesis Gaming CEO Anuj Tandon as partner
Investment firm aims to expand presence in India’s fast-growing games market
Investment News
Nazara continues M&A push with Funky Monkeys and LearnTube investments
The firm has also pumped $17.74m into subsidiaries to boost ownership
Acqusitions
Nazara subsidiary Nodwin Gaming acquires Trinity Gaming for $2.8 million
Games and esports firm plans to strengthen Trinity’s portfolio in emerging markets like Southeast Asia, Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East
Gaming Trends
India's competition watchdog launches probe into Google's real-money gaming policies
The investigation is expected to conclude in next two months
Investment News
Nazara nets $100m to accelerate strategic acquisitions and expansion plans
“We have our work cut out in front of us to deploy the capital diligently to create significant shareholder values,” said CEO Nitish Mittersain
Investment News
WTFund and Nazara Technologies back Norian Games and Xigma Games with $240,000 investment
“This fund is a small step in supporting companies that have made a mark with their innovative games”
Funding News
KGeN secures $10 million for web3-powered ‘gamer controlled’ economies
The latest raise brings the company's valuation to $500 million
Industry Outlook
India’s games industry is projected to reach $7.5 billion by 2028
India has 568 million gamers, 25% of whom are paying users, showing a 17% YoY increase
Indian Games Market
M-League launches Blast+ to bring free-to-play games to the growing Indian mobile games market
The new publishing arm will offer various expertise from localisation to live ops strategies
Emerging Markets
Supercell’s Games First 2024 explores emerging markets in LATAM, India and Africa
Emerging markets are presenting opportunities to grow audiences and new studios
Podcast | Episode 34
Subscription without upsell is death! And IDFA changes are good now? | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 34...
Strategic Growth
Redwood acquires majority stake in Indian games streaming start-up Loco for $65m
The deal will see Loco expand to global markets
Funding News
Krafton leads investment round in India studio Deftouch to scale King and develop new games
Krafton India co-led the round alongside T-accelerate Capital and Lumikai Fund
Investment News
Nazara secures $108m to fuel further M&A
Nazara has also acquired an additional 19.35% share in Sportskeeda parent company Absolute Sports
India Insights
Why India's mobile gamers are more willing to spend in battle royale hits Battlegrounds Mobile and Free Fire
New report delves into player habits and market dynamics in the country
India Games Industry
Nazara invests $2.2 million in gaming community platform STAN
Nazara secured the deal through its subsidiary Nazara Dubai FZ
New Trailer
FAU-G Domination pre-registrations go live on Android
The Dot9 Games developed title aims to meet the demand of Indian gamers who desire locally relevant content
New Partnerships
Nazara partners with government of Telangana to launch AI center of excellence
The AI Center will focus on games and digital entertainment to position the company as a leader in the AI-driven space
Tech On Top In India
Indian Government launches ‘Create in India Challenge' initiative to support creators
The competition features 25 challenges in fields ranging from animation, filmmaking, video games and music
New Partnerships
Nodwin Gaming pens multi-year partnership with Insider.in for events in India
Insider.in will become Nodwin Gaming's official ticketing partner in India for all key IPs across games
World Entrepreneurs Day
India’s video games and esports sector powers growth with over 117,000 startups
This growth has made esports and gaming a viable career for both gamers and entrepreneurs
India Games Industry
Key Indian execs endorse PM Modi's Independence Day games business backing
Modi is also calling for the country to transition from being a games industry consumer to becoming a leading producer
Big Moves
Nazara’s $100m M&A war chest takes India’s largest games company global
CEO Nitish Mittersain on why Nazara could invest even more in deals and his ambitions of growing the company to a $10 billion valuation
Apple Vs Android
Mobile games revenue growth is at a snail’s pace on Apple as Android closes the gap
Android users spent $10 billion on mobile games in H1 2024, versus $13.8 billion on Apple
Antitrust Heat
India's antitrust investigation hits Apple for market abuse
Apple has denied wrongdoing stating it's a small player in India as Android devices are more dominant
Finding Funds
Felicity Games raises $700K in pre-seed to test 10 games within a year
Funds were raised from DeVC, Visceral Capital, and many angel investors
Android To Apple
Pre-registrations for SuperGaming’s eagerly awaited Indus on iOS are now open
The India-focused battle royale has already attracted 11 million pre-registrations on Android
Strategic Growth
Nazara eyes full acquisition of Kiddopia in $36m deal
The purchase could be finalised later this month