Diversified gaming and sports media firm Nazara Technologies announced on March 7 it is picking up a 3.57 percent stake in ReelSaga, an upcoming serialised short drama video app, for an investment of $250,000 (Rs 2.17 crore).
With this investment, Nazara Technologies aims to tap into the fast-growing global trend of serialised short dramas that integrates the core principles of gaming and digital media. The company believes this will create significant opportunity for multifold returns as several foundational aspects of the gaming and short drama video business models align closely, it noted.
Incorporated in 2024, ReelSaga is still in a pre-launch phase. Nazara stated that the app will feature hundreds of vertically shot video series serialised into several one to two minute long episodes "fit for the content choices and lifestyle of India’s young, digitally-savvy, on-the-go generation"
The startup will primarily rely on microtransactions for monetisation, allowing consumers to pay per episode. It will also offer an exclusive pass and weekly, monthly, or annual subscriptions for 'whale' users - a term typically used for big spenders in mobile games or apps.
Nazara Technologies and its esports subsidiary Nodwin Gaming has previously backed Rusk Media, a mobile-first digital media organisation, in 2021. The startup creates serialised social and streaming video IPs (intellectual properties) across fiction and non-fiction genres targeted at young adults.
Nodwin Gaming and Rusk Media have also partnered for a gaming entertainment show called Playground, which has had four seasons and is available on Amazon MX Player. Rusk Media's studio business claims to have worked on over 25 video IPs that are currently available on a range of video platforms such as YouTube, JioHotstar, and Amazon MX Player.
Nazara Technologies also purchased a 10.77 percent stake in influencer marketing platform Kofluence for about Rs 32.4 crore in a secondary transaction. Kofluence co-founder and CEO Sreeram Reddy Vanga had previously sold his earlier venture OpenPlay to Nazara Technologies for Rs 186.4 crore in August 2021.
Last year, Nazara Technologies and Kofluence had announced plans to launch an influencer-driven game discovery platform, wherein influencers will promote Nazara's games across various social media platforms.
Read: Kuku FM launches Kuku TV to foray into vertical micro-dramas
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