Nazara Technologies unveils game publishing unit for Indian, global developers

Nazara Technologies recently raised Rs 510 crore financing from SBI Mutual Fund and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.

Nazara Technologies on October 30 unveiled a new game publishing division, Nazara Publishing, as the company looks to capitalise on India's rising potential as a global gaming hub.

Through this division, Nazara Technologies plans to publish games made by Indian developers across the world as well as partner with global developers to localise and bring these games to India.

“We are dedicated to nurturing both Indian and global game developers, providing resources, expertise, and a robust network to bring top-tier gaming experiences to India's vast audience, ” said Nazara Technologies CEO Nitish Mittersain said in a statement.

With a special focus on supporting Indian developers, Nazara sees a significant opportunity in the "Make in India" initiative and as part of this initiative, the company will also promote Indian game developers globally, he added.

The company said it plans to launch up to 20 games across mobile, web3, virtual reality (VR) and personal computer (PC) over the next 18 months and invest a minimum of Rs 1 crore a game.

Nazara Technologies will also provide developers with support on game design, localisation, data analytics capabilities, beta testing and quality assurance, enhanced monetisation and strong distribution through smart user acquisition spends and platform partnerships, it said in a statement.

Nazara Publishing marks the first time the company is venturing outside of mobile gaming into other forms of gaming such as PC, Web3 and VR gaming.

Developers will also have access to mentors in the form of industry leaders and experts, the statement added. The mentors include Mittersain, Nazara COO Sudhir Kamath, and Nodwin Gaming co-founder Akshat Rathee, according to the company website.

Read: After Zerodha’s Kamath, Nazara Tech to raise more capital to scale up its verticals, says Nitish Mittersain

Building a warchest

This move comes on the heels of the diversified mobile gaming and sports media firm raising Rs 510 crore from SBI Mutual Fund and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. The company has shareholder approval to raise up to Rs 750 crore.

Nazara Technologies currently operates in three key sectors - gaming (World Cricket Championship, Kiddopia, Animal Jam, Classic Rummy etc), esports (Nodwin Gaming, Sportskeeda) and advertising (Datawrkz).

In September 2023, Mittersain had told Moneycontrol that they are actively looking at game publishing tie-ups such as their recent partnership with Israel-based Snax Games.

Nazara Technologies had in August 2023 acquired exclusive rights to publish game titles from Snax Games in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East region on a revenue-sharing basis for five years.

The company is also investing up to $500,000 (around Rs 4.15 crore) in Snax Games across one or two tranches in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), with a right to buy equity shares at a future date.

Read: BGMI maker Krafton to invest $150 million on Indian gaming and entertainment startups

India's maturing gaming market

The development also comes at a time when India’s gaming sector is showing signs of maturity in terms of user behaviour and their gaming habits and the industry reaching an inflection point in terms of scale and the propensity to pay.

This is spurring local studios to attempt to create bigger, better, and more complex games that can eventually compete with their international counterparts, as Moneycontrol previously reported.

India is the fastest-growing video games market in Asia, both in terms of revenue and gamers, with its mobile and PC gaming revenue projected to reach $868 million in 2023, according to Niko Partners, a market research and consulting firm that covers video games, e-sports, and streaming in the continent.

This is set to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 17.2 percent to touch $1.58 billion by 2027. These figures do not include revenue generated by real money games.

India's overall online gaming industry revenues reached $2.6 billion in FY22 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 27 percent to $8.6 billion in FY27, according to a report by Lumikai, a gaming and interactive media-focused venture fund.