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Tag: Akshat Rathee

  • The acquisition will bring additional touchpoints to gaming, pop culture and esports

    Nodwin Gaming acquires stake in Planet Superheroes

    By Our Staff

     

    Nodwin Gaming, esports company and a material subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Limited, has acquired superheroes merchandising retailer – Planet Superheroes. This new addition will enable Nodwin Gaming to offer iconic global merchandise, notes a communique.

     

    Said Akshat Rathee, Founder and MD, Nodwin Gaming: “The Indian gaming and esports industry has witnessed a metamorphic rise in its fan base in recent years. The acquisition of Planet Superheroes will enable Nodwin Gaming to have another strategic touch point with fans that celebrates a common love for all things gaming, pop culture and esports. We believe in increasing the existing offering of global brands to include mega tournaments, Games and even the popular talent and players like Mortal, Samay Raina, Tanmay, Ankit Panth and others.”

     

    Added Jaineel Aga, Founder and CEO of PSH: “There is huge untapped monetization potential for gaming companies via merchandising and we share a common vision in realizing this potential with PSH joining NODWIN. I believe we will get two immediate wins, a larger consumer base for our existing IPs and a new supply of licenses and partnerships in the gaming industry. I have known Akshat since we met on a Comic Con panel discussion a few years ago and am very excited to join hands to leverage the talent and influencer access that Nodwin can provide us,”

     

  • Aims to deepen portfolio of content IPs in gaming and esports ecosystem

    Nodwin picks up 10% in Rusk Media

    By Our Staff

     

    Nodwin Gaming, the material subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Limited, has acquired a strategic 10% stake in the digital content IP media network Rusk Media. It aims to deepen and widen its portfolio of content IPs in the gaming and esports ecosystem by investing in Rusk Media.

     

    Said Akshat Rathee, Managing Director, Nodwin Gaming: “As a leader of esports in the South Asian region, we aim to eventually have a significant presence across the entire ecosystem in this sector. Through our investment in Rusk Media, we aim to take further steps in the massification of esports and gaming by creating entertainment-first gaming IPs for the GenZ.”

     

    Added Mayank Yadav, CEO, Rusk Media: “We’re excited to have NODWIN Gaming as a part of our journey to revolutionize entertainment for the Gen-Z & Millennial audience. We want to bring together the worlds of entertainment and esports and create digital-first IPs that are made for gaming fans.”

     

  • This acquisition taps into a growing synergy between the two companies

    Nodwin Gaming acquires OML’s gaming & live IP biz

    By Our Staff

     

    Nodwin Gaming, South Asia’s esports company, and an independent subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Limited, has acquired the gaming and adjacent IP business of OML Entertainment. This acquisition taps into a growing synergy between the two companies. While Nodiwn Gaming is known for its esports and gaming expertise. OML Entertainment is known for managing gaming and entertainment creators such as Tanmay Bhat, Samay Raina, Suhani Shah, etc.

     

    Akshat Rathee
    Akshat Rathee

    Akshat Rathee, Managing Director, Nodiwn Gaming said: “Nodiwn Gaming strongly believes that continuous growth in the IP portfolio is central to building a vibrant ecosystem of fans, talent, broadcasters and brands. This has been the essence of Nodiwn Gaming since the early days of creating The India premiership or Dew Arena.  The addition of some of the largest IPs in India like NH7 weekender is going to accelerate the massification of esports and gaming entertainment across the spectrum of fans and brands. The multi-faceted talent that joins us cuts across gaming and pop culture and lays the perfect foundation for Nodiwn Gaming to create more IPs. The proven capability of the brilliant team that joins us from OML Entertainment will further ensure that we can execute and monetise our IPs.”

     

    Ajay Nair
    Ajay Nair

    Added Ajay Nair, Managing Director, OML Entertainment: “We believe in the convergence of different pop culture genres and have seen that this has already happened across several platforms and IPs. It makes a lot of sense to consolidate the strengths that OML Entertainment and Nodwin Gaming have in the live IPs and gaming spaces. Over the past years, our experience working with Nodwin Gaming has been very fruitful and we are confident that our live IPs and the teams that execute them have found a good home at Nodwin Gaming. OML Entertainment will continue to focus on building its OTT content production, talent management and branded content businesses. I look forward to working with Akshat and the Nodwin Gaming team to deliver on the true potential of this partnership.”

     

  • Launch ‘Airtel India Esports Tour’ – the first national ranking of Esports players in the country

    Nodwin Gaming & Airtel ink tie-up for esports

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bharti Airtel and Nodwin Gaming have announced a partnership to further grow e-sports in India. The partnership has been kicked off with the launch of Airtel India Esports Tour, which is the first and largest property of its kind in this segment.

     

    Said Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel: “At Airtel, it has always being our aspiration to support a digital India. Gaming is the next frontier of entertainment and it gives us great pleasure to announce our partnership with Nodwin to unlock the potential of E-sports in India. E-sports is taking a higher share of where our youth spend their time and we look forward to a deep partnership with Nodwin to evolve this space and support the youth in India.”

     

    Added Akshat Rathee, Founder and MD, Nodwin Gaming: “Nodwin Gaming believes that by binding the elements of independent tournaments into a single storyline we will give rise to a new culture in the competitive world of Indian esports. The teams and players will now look up to perform throughout the year rather than focusing on few big standalone tournaments in a year.”

     

     

  • Kedia, who was until recently EVP and Head of Strategy, Data Science and e-sports at Viacom18, will be based out of Mumbai where he’ll open the first regional office for Nodwin Gaming

    Sidharth Kedia appointed CEO of Nodwin Gaming

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nodwin Gaming has appointed Sidharth Kedia as its CEO to spearhead and drive the online gaming business in India. Kedia, who was until recently EVP and Head of Strategy, Data Science and e-sports at Viacom18, will be based out of Mumbai where he’ll open the first regional office for Nodwin Gaming.

     

    Announcing the news, Akshat Rathee, Founder and Managing Director of Nodwin Gaming said: “It’s an exciting time for the firm as the overall e-sports scene in India is on the cusp of exponential growth. We are thrilled to have Sid joining us as the CEO at this time. With his rich experience in the media, entertainment, technology, and investment sectors coupled with his in-depth understanding of the gaming space and his proficiency in scaling businesses, I’m confident his leadership will provide the fuel that will propel e-sports and Nodwin Gaming to the next level. We wish him all the best. The CEO function will continue to report to the Managing Director and the Board.”

     

    Added Kedia: “In today’s age of digital disruption where several of our cultural experiences are undergoing an online evolution, e-sports has become an unequivocal buzzword. The gaming business in India is finally coming of age. The journey of e-sports that began as a virtual battle between geeky gamers in the confines of their homes or cybercafés a decade ago, is no longer just fun and games but has evolved into a major organized sport recognized at the Asian Games and even the Olympics. I am equally enthusiastic and anxious as I take up my new role as CEO and aim to make Nodwin Gaming a global player when it comes to e-sports.”

     

  • The event will be live-streamed on Voot

    Viacom18 and Nodwin bring digital gaming festival ‘DreamHack’ to Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    E-sports pioneer Nodwin Gaming and Viacom18 have come together to bring leading gaming festival Dreamhack to India. The Dream Hack India event will take place from 21-23 December 2018, at NESCO, Mumbai.

     

    Sudhanshu Vats

    Speaking about the network’s endeavours into e-sports, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director Designate, Viacom18 said: “Viacom18 has never been one to shy away from experimenting with new concepts, ideas and formats. Given the strong affinity youth audiences have with our content, brands and experiences, we think this is the right time for us to dip our toes in the fast-paced, thrilling world of e-sports. The world is changing fast and lines are blurring between different content genres. Given the abundance of data that has been unleashed by Jio, it is only natural for the fandom around e-sports to grow by leaps and bounds in India. As the country’s youngest full-play media organisation, we want to stay ahead of the curve and tap into tomorrow’s big passion points today. Our association with DreamHack is a step in this direction.”

     

    Dream Hack is a digital festival where gamers and digital natives come together for a three-day weekend which features a 24-hour-a-day Local Area Network (LAN) party, e-sports gaming competitions; Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC). The festival will be jam-packed with players/gamers who will be invited for a gaming championship in pro e-sports tournaments, collegiate matches, world famous LAN party, cosplay championship, panels, activities, expos, music concert, art and more. Till date, DreamHack has organised multiple events in the North America and European regions.

     

    Akshat Rathee,

    On bringing Dream Hack to India, Akshat Rathee, Founder and CEO, Nodwin Gaming said: “Dream Hack has always been the epitome of the celebration of gaming and esports globally and we are delighted to partner with Dreamhack on their Indian journey. India with its dynamic youth and famed hospitality is a great beachhead into bringing the Dreamhack experience to Asia. NODWIN Gaming has been working hard on providing the best for our community of gamers across the country. This places the love for gaming right at the centre of our ecosystem. Partnering with Viacom18 brings the synergy full circle. Their reach to the youth of our country is unparalleled and we look forward to the convergence”

     

     

  • The festival will have a mix of professional and casual gamers, international celebrity gamer’s competition, cosplay competition and unlimited entertainment

    Dome Entertainment partners Nodwin Gaming to launch Echoslam

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dome Entertainment and Nodwin Gaming have announced their association to launch Echoslam, a unique e-sports, music, and entertainment festival. The festival will have a mix of professional and casual gamers, international celebrity gamer’s competition, cosplay competition and unlimited entertainment over a four month period.

     

    Speaking on the new initiative, SupritKarkera, Business Head, Events & IP, Dome Entertainment Pvt Ltd said: “We realised that the Indian events space is over-crowded and saturated with concerts and events which is celebrity led, expensive for fans, forced  sponsor connect and has very little experience to offer to fans. Therefore based on our research, expertise, insights and under the leadership of  Mazhar Nadiadwala, MD, we decided to create Echoslam – a mega e-sports festival, which is purely experience and memories led, fun, disruptive, affordable, secure, safe, convenient and engages all stakeholders seamlessly. Associating with a partner like Nodwin Gaming for our first experience under the IP vertical enables us to bring together our combined expertise and best practices to create a festival that aims to deliver a memorable experience for all. We hope that this is the first of many such experiences we collaborate with Nodwin Gaming for, and hope to strengthen our association further.’’

     

    Speaking on the collaboration, Akshat Rathee, Founder & Managing Director of Nodwin Gaming says, “We believe that the upcoming Echoslam event, being held across India, with its finale in Mumbai, is absolutely unique, with a horde of new experiences.”

     

     

  • Nazara, with its majority investment in Nodwin, is furthering its commitment of developing the esports ecosystem

    Nazara acquires majority stake in Nodwin

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nazara Technologies, which announced its foray into esports last year, has acquired a majority stake of 55 per cent in Nodwin Gaming.

     

    Said Manish Agarwal, CEO, Nazara Technologies: “Through this acquisition we aim to provide Indian esports enthusiasts a robust player and community orientated esports ecosystem, in which players can thrive, improve their skills and become top competitors at an international level.

     

    Added Nodwin Gaming CMD Akshat Rathee: “Esports is one of the fastest growing sports worldwide. This acquisition by Nazara Games adds to the credibility of Nodwin and opens up a wide vista of opportunities for Indian esports players to build careers domestically and Internationally. It strengthens our ability to provide our key stakeholders better experiences and bigger opportunities to engage with our community”

     

     

  • ESL India Premiership will be aired for the first time on Indian TV

    DSport partners Nodwin to broadcast Indian eSports league

    By A Correspondent

     

    DSport, a sports channel launched by Discovery Communications India, has partnered with Nodwin Gaming to showcase the flagship esports tournament in the country – ESL India Premiership. As a part of the partnership, DSport will telecast 90 minutes of action everyday starting yesterday (July 19), and will continue until December 2017.

     

    “We are excited to showcase eSports for the first time on television in India. The 90-minutes of intense gaming broadcast daily on DSPORT, for over 6 months, will catapult the popularity of eSports further in the country,” said, Karan Bajaj, Senior Vice-President & General Manager, Discovery Communications India.

     

    Added Akshat Rathee, Managing Director, Nodwin Gaming: “eSports is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and this broadcast of the ESL India Premiership on DSportis sure to elevate their popularity to a new level. eSports has been already announced as a medal event for the 2022 Asian Games and will also hopefully make it to the 2024 Olympics, so we hope this initiative will act as a first step towards bringing glory to the country on global multi-sports platforms.”

     

  • Local Indian esports industry to receive massive grassroots push from scene specialists

    ESL and Nodwin announce ESL India Premiership

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESL, leading esports company, in association with Nodwin Gaming is set to present India’s first annual tournament series, the ESL India Premiership. The event will host six online cups and three mega LAN events throughout the year, while boasting a monumental prize pool of over US$64,000, which translates to more than INR 42 lakhs in cash prizes.

     

    The ESL India Premiership is the largest tournament series organized not just in India, but in the entire South Asian region. The tournament series will present gamers the opportunity to participate as a team or an individual in online cups and win cash prizes, whilst qualifying for LAN events classified as “Challengers” and “Masters” that are organized on a world class level. At each of the two Challengers, a total prize pool of over INR 17 lakhs will be up for grabs, with the year-ending Masters finale paying out close to 20 lakhs to the champions alone.

     

    “ESL’s mission is to increase the popularity of esports across the globe. We are excited to help build up the local esports community in India with Nodwin. The country’s diverse communities, along with the fact that India embraces technology like no other place, makes it a perfect candidate,” said Ralf Reichert, Managing Director of ESL. “We are very excited to get started with the ESL India Premiership, and I personally can’t wait to experience it live, as I’m sure the crowd will be fantastic. In the meantime, we will ensure that we can deliver a world-class experience – both online and offline – to the local and international fans, and hope this tournament series helps foster growth in the region.”

     

    Akshat Rathee, Director and CEO of Nodwin Gaming, expressed, “Esports athletes are treated as celebrities worldwide and they earn millions of dollars every year by opting to embrace electronic sports as a career. This is unfortunately not yet the case in India. – But we hope to change this. The ESL India Premiership is the next big esports revolution in our country. We feel proud to state that our continuous efforts for the last three years have led to the establishment of such a fruitful brand for our community and for our country, and it’s only just getting started. Join us and play your way up to the top of the ESL India Premiership. Meet the stars and young talents. Action and excitement are guaranteed, it’s the biggest showdown in India to date.”

     

    The ESL India Premiership will feature three of the top esports titles worldwide: Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Hearthstone. It will also be the first esports championship in India to introduce the popular rhythm game series Just Dance, which is based on real time dancing. The online cups are set to start on 9th May, while the Challengers are set for the month of August and November, with the Masters in December. In addition to active participation, ESL has partnered with Twitch, the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers, so that fans can enjoy the ESL India Premiership action live every day from 7-10pm on the Twitch ESL India Premiership Channel.