Weekly News Digest #12
# of announced deals
10
announced deals’ size
$6.1B
# of closed deals
10
Nazara’s ~$100m Bluetile & BestPlay Deal Marks Its Largest Acquisition
Nazara Technologies (NSE: NAZARA), India’s publicly listed gaming company, has agreed to acquire a 50% controlling stake in Spain-based casual mobile gaming company Bluetile Games S.L. (formerly Playvalve S.L.) and its rewarded-engagement platform, BestPlay Systems S.L., for an upfront consideration of ~$100.3m. The deal includes performance-linked earn-outs estimated at $98.2m, payable annually over the next 3 years (2028-2030), bringing the total deal value to $198.5m. Nazara holds a call option to acquire the remaining ~50% by 2028 for 6.6x trailing calendar-year EBITDA. If Nazara exercises the call option at current EBITDA levels, the total consideration for full ownership would reach ~$290m, implying an additional ~$91m outlay for the remaining 50%. The deal closing is subject to regulatory approvals (FDI, CNMC in Spain).
The combined Bluetile and BestPlay platform marks the largest acquisition to date for Nazara Technologies. Together, companies have reported $153.6m in revenue and $27.7m in EBITDA for CY2025. At an upfront implied total equity value of ~$200.6m (used as a proxy for enterprise value given the absence of disclosed cash or debt), the transaction values the target at 1.3x CY2025 Gross Revenue and 7.2x CY2025 EBITDA.
Nazara’s share price has been on a steady downward trajectory since the start of 2026 (-20% YTD), with two distinct selloff waves – beginning with an early Feb’26 selloff on weak Q3 FY26 results, weighed down by regulatory-driven impairment losses and the real money gaming ban. After shares recovered through late February, a sharper second leg down came in early Mar’26, driven by escalating Middle East tensions and broad-based outflows from Indian equities. The Mar 18 announcement of the Bluetile and BestPlay acquisition provided a modest counterweight, with shares recovering from an intra-month low of ~₹225 to ₹235 in the two sessions following the deal’s disclosure.
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Mumbai, Nazara operates a globally distributed portfolio across edutainment, esports media, casual mobile gaming, and interactive entertainment. Key subsidiaries include India-based Paper Boat Apps (acquired in Jul’24), the studio behind Kiddopia, a subscription learning platform for young children; US-based games studio WildWorks (acquired in Aug’22), behind a children’s online MMO Animal Jam; Fusebox Games (acquired in Aug’24), the UK studio developer behind licensed mobile narrative games Love Island and Big Brother; India-based digital sports media platform Sportskeeda (taken to 100% ownership in Mar’25); and UK-based PC & Console publisher Curve Games (acquired May’25) with its casual hit Human Fall Flat. The financial impact of these strategic expansions is reflected in the Group’s total revenue and EBITDA dynamics for the last three years:
- Revenue grew 56% over two years, driven principally by the previously acquired mobile and PC & Console studios.
- The CY2025 top-line acceleration (+35.7% YoY) coincided with a decisive portfolio simplification: NODWIN Gaming (esports events) was deconsolidated from the group, which, combined with integration overhead across multiple concurrent acquisitions, compressed EBITDA margin from 9.5% in CY2023 to 4.9% in CY2025.
The strategic rationale for the Bluetile and BestPlay acquisition includes:
- Bluetile’s AI-native pipeline targets 50% faster development cycles, a capability Nazara plans to deploy across its full global portfolio, combined with a highly diversified casual portfolio of 17 live titles.
- BestPlay’s proprietary rewarded app gives Nazara a fully owned UA distribution channel that bypasses paid external ad networks.
- Strengthening Nazara’s financial profile with an 18% EBITDA margin asset for CY2025.
Savvy Games Group has agreed to acquire Moonton Technology for $6B
Saudi Arabia-based Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has agreed to acquire Shanghai-based mobile game developer Moonton Technology from China-based internet technology company ByteDance for $6.0B, in a deal announced on Mar 20, 2026. The transaction values Moonton at a ~50% premium to the ~$4B ByteDance paid in 2021, when it acquired the studio via gaming subsidiary Nuverse, outbidding Tencent (SEHK: 700). CEO Zhang Yunfan will remain in place, employees will receive incentive packages, and Moonton will retain operational autonomy.
Moonton is the developer of the mobile MOBA Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has surpassed 1.5 billion lifetime installs and maintains over 110 million monthly active users, concentrated primarily in Southeast Asia. We previously covered Moonton’s financial profile, ByteDance’s projected deal return, and the strategic rationale for both parties on our website. The acquisition transfers a complete competitive gaming ecosystem: the M-Series generates revenue from broadcasting rights and brand sponsorships. In addition to in-game monetization through skins and battle passes, it constitutes another compelling revenue stream.
The deal extends Savvy’s gaming portfolio, which already includes US-based mobile publisher Scopely, acquired for $4.9B in Jul’23. Scopely subsequently acquired Niantic’s games division, including the AR location game Pokémon GO, for $3.5B in May’25. Combined with broader listed equity stakes and the pending take-private of US-based games publisher Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) at ~$55B, PIF’s total gaming-related deployment approaches more than $70B in aggregate transaction value, underscoring the scale of Saudi Arabia’s strategic commitment to the global games industry.
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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
China-based games publisher NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) has acquired a 10% minority stake in China-based startup Xing Han Ming Kong Network Technology for an undisclosed sum. The investment centers on the studio’s debut title, the social deduction game Celestial Fall, developed with Unreal Engine 5. The deal reflects NetEase’s strategic refocus on domestic Chinese studios as it concurrently winds down several of its funding commitments to Western studios.
Finland-based AI advertising platform Smartly has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Israel-based marketing measurement platform INCRMNTAL for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close within weeks of announcement. INCRMNTAL provides incrementality measurement using causal AI and reinforcement learning across mobile, web, CTV, and offline channels. Its gaming clients include Huuuge Games and SEGA. Smartly serves 650+ brands across social, CTV, and commerce channels with 450+ employees across 16 cities.
US-based gaming media company Super League Enterprise (NASDAQ: SLE) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Ads Division of US-based esports company Misfits Gaming Group for $1.5m in cash. Additional consideration includes a 19.99% equity stake in Super League Enterprise, a warrant to purchase Super League shares at $18.00, and potential earnout payments over 24 months based on revenue milestones. The acquired division has executed 150+ brand partnership programs across Roblox games, Minecraft servers, and gaming creators. The Ads Division includes programmatic revenue streams, rewarded video technology, and data partnerships for audience targeting. Misfits Gaming Group’s portfolio reaches 100 million monthly active users.
US-based AI game development tool company Ramen VR has acquired Coplay, a US-based AI game development assistant, for an undisclosed sum. The deal integrates Coplay’s Unity AI capabilities into Ramen’s multi-agent AI assistant Aura, which previously supported only Unreal Engine. The combined product will cover both Unity and Unreal Engine, reaching approximately 80% of all game development platforms. Coplay is the creator of Unity MCP, an open-source tool that enables AI assistants to interact directly with the Unity Editor via the Model Context Protocol, which has accumulated more than 7,000 GitHub stars.
VENTURE FINANCING
France-based player co-creation platform games2gether has raised $4.9m (€4.5m) in a Series A funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners. The funds will accelerate the platform’s product roadmap and scale commercial operations. Games2gether enables game studios to build customizable community spaces, gather player insights, and co-develop games with their communities. The platform was originally developed internally by Amplitude Studios, the France-based developer of the turn-based strategy series Endless Space and Endless Legend. Games2gether has since spun out as an independent company. Griffin Gaming Partners previously led Amplitude Studios’ ~$13.5m (€12m) Series A in May’25.
Finland-based interactive advertising platform developer Quicksave Interactive has secured an undisclosed investment from HyperScope Ventures to develop Playables.ai, a generative AI platform for creating interactive advertisements. The platform enables advertisers to build playable ad experiences using text prompts, without manual development. Founded in 2017 by Elina Arponen, Ville-Kalle Arponen, and Timo Kämäräinen, Quicksave Interactive previously raised $1.3m to scale its HTML5 games business.
US-based game developer Afrime Studios has raised $400k in an angel round and is entering a seed funding round. Proceeds will scale production of the studio’s debut title, the Afrofuturistic sci-fi action RPG Unyverse. Afrime Studios was founded by CEO Crandon Dillard and co-founder Erik Reynolds and is the first majority Black-owned video game development studio in South Carolina.
FUNDRAISING
India-based esports and gaming company NODWIN Gaming has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round that combines a new share issuance and a secondary sale of existing shares for an undisclosed sum. UBS is serving as lead advisor for both the raise and the planned public listing. Proceeds will support global expansion through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. In conjunction with the round, the company appointed Arnd Benninghoff, EVP of Gaming at Modern Times Group (MTG), an existing investor, to its board as a non-executive board member. NODWIN was previously a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies, but it transitioned to an associate company following a capital raise in 2025. The company generated $58.5m in revenue in the first nine months of FY2026, up 42% YoY, and returned to EBITDA profitability.
| Report Date | Company Name | Earnings Release Presentation | Share Price Dynamics (Report Date vs. 23-Mar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/17/2026 | Huya | Huya FY2025 Q4 | (2.5%) |
| 3/18/2026 | Tencent | Tencent FY2025 Q4 | (9.5%) |
| 3/20/2026 | CD Projekt Group | CD Projekt Group FY2025 | (0.2%) |
