Nodwin Gaming raises $22.4 million investment from PUBG Mobile developers

South Korean firm Krafton, the developer of popular gaming title PUBG Mobile, have had a massive presence in Indian market, especially among the youths. However, due to the fact that there is a volatile landscape that has been created in the last one year, the firm decided to invest $22.4 million - 164 Crore - in Indian esports firm Nodwin Gaming - a subsidiary of local gaming giant Nazara.

The investment was widely speculated ever since two firms came to an understanding last week to host two PUBG Mobile events in Asia. Nazara has a huge presence in India when it comes to e-sports deliverables after working with several firms, including Blizzard Entertainment, Valve, Riot Games and ESL to help them host events, provide commentary, produce and license content, and amass brands and sponsors.

“Esports will be a key pillar to the growth of sports entertainment in the future. It sits at a wonderful intersection of sports, entertainment and technology where nations such as India can pave the path,” said Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of Nodwin Gaming, in a statement.

“With Krafton coming on board, we have an endorsement from the mecca of gaming and esports — South Korea — on what we are building from India for the world based on our competence in mobile first markets.”

It must be noted that PUBG Mobile Games has been banned in India after the Central Government passed on the directive following tensions with China on the SiaChen border. Krafton is pushing the cause to bring the game back in India and even assured New Delhi that it had cut ties with Chinese publisher Tencent while also inking a global cloud deal with Microsoft.

“Krafton is excited to partner with Nodwin Gaming to help foster the promising esports ecosystem and engage with our fans and players in India,” said Changhan Kim, chief executive of Krafton in a statement.

“Taking the momentum from this partnership, we will explore additional investment opportunities in the region to uphold our commitment and dedication in cultivating the local video game, esports, entertainment, and tech industries,” he added.