Indian gaming giant Nazara earmarks $100m for global expansion

Nazara Technologies CEO Nitish Mittersain / Photo credit: Nazara Technologies

India-based Nazara Technologies Limited is ready to take on the global gaming market. The Mumbai-listed gaming and media company, best known as the publisher of mobile game series World Cricket Championship, announced it is pledging US$100 million for global expansion over the next two years.

The move comes on the heels of a US$90 million fundraise through a preferential allotment of Nazara’s shares, the company said in a statement. To solidify its worldwide presence, the firm is looking into strategic mergers and acquisitions with a focus on established gaming intellectual properties and studios.

Nazara CEO Nitish Mittersain said the company aims to continue its “acquire and scale” strategy, which it applied in past acquisitions like esports company Nodwin Gaming, sports media platform Sportskeeda, and Paper Boat Apps, which created edtech app Kiddopia.

“We are particularly focused on investing in and acquiring gaming studios globally with a specific focus on India’s 500 million gamers as well as the large North American market,” Mittersain added. 

Nazara’s plans come as the global gaming industry is expected to be worth US$321 billion by 2026, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. Having raised US$253 million in disclosed funding, Nazara also launched a game publishing arm late last year.

At the time of writing, Nazara’s market capitalization is 48.3 billion rupees (US$583 million).

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Currency converted from Indian rupee to US dollar: US$1 = 82.84 rupees.