Big news on AFK Gaming—we’ve just been acquired. Today’s edition sheds light on the details behind the deal. Also on deck: a dive into Steam user trends, a slight decline in Twitch’s audience, Sony’s growing stake in Kadokawa (the parent company of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware), and more.
NODWIN Gaming, a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies, has acquired AFK Gaming Pvt. Ltd. Ltd., in a deal worth Rs 7.6 crore. The transaction, which involves a cash and stock swap, will make AFK Gaming a wholly owned subsidiary of NODWIN Gaming, subject to closing formalities.
The acquisition is intended to enhance NODWIN’s capabilities in content production, marketing and PR services for eSports and gaming. By integrating AFK Gaming into its operations, Nodwin looks to enhance its offering to brands and publishers, expanding its footprint in the eSports ecosystem.
Established in 2012, AFK Gaming has been a part of India’s eSports media landscape for over a decade. NODWIN previously held a 7% stake in the company and had invested as a strategic partner in 2017. With this acquisition, AFK’s founders will assume roles within NODWIN’s ecosystem, contributing to strategic initiatives and expanding marketing services through AFK’s agency vertical, Max Level.
Akshat Rathi, co-founder of Nodwin Gaming, described the move as a step towards consolidating operations within the growing eSports industry. The deal reflects NODWIN’s ongoing expansion efforts, following recent acquisitions in India and abroad.
Steam users only spent 15% of their total playtime on new releases in 2024. While this represents a 9% increase in 2023, older titles continue to dominate game time.
Games released in the past one to seven years accounted for 47% of total hours played, while 37% of play time went to titles older than eight years, including counter attack And Dota 2Despite notable launches such as hell diver 2 And Black Myth: WukongThe data highlights a consistent preference for familiar games.
The slow adoption of new titles underscores the challenge of breaking into Steam’s crowded ecosystem, where more than 200,000 games compete for attention. A vast catalog of established live-service games and old favorites makes it difficult for recent releases to find a footing.
Twitch viewing time drops slightly in 2024
Twitch users will log 18.5 billion hours in 2024, down from 18.9 billion in 2023. Platform diversification and multistreaming trends have been cited as possible factors in the slight decline in total viewership. The platform’s top nine games, which are unchanged since 2020, include GTA V, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Valorant.
Sony to become largest shareholder in Kadokawa Corporation
Sony is ready to increase its stake to about 10%. The strategic alliance aims to co-produce anime, adapt Kadokawa IP into live-action content, and expand publishing for Kadokawa’s anime and games, including FromSoftware titles such as Elden Ring and Dark Souls.
Netflix India partners with Hanumankind to drive engagement for ‘Squid Game’ Season 2
Netflix India launches a promotional anthem, “The Game Don’t Stop”, ahead of its December 26 release squid game Season 2. The campaign features Hanumankind, an Indian hip-hop artist whose viral success Big Dogs has made him a popular figure in the Indian indie music industry.
Lin Kuei, founder of Yuzu Games and creator of the highly anticipated adaptation of The 3 Body Problem Netflix series. Reportedly inspired by the TV series Breaking Bad, a co-worker poisoned him with a cocktail of at least five toxins.
Shanghai-based Yuzu Games is best known for its hit mobile game Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming and its role-playing game League of Angels. Lin founded the company in 2009 and quickly established it as a global publisher, gaining prominence for adapting popular intellectual properties into successful gaming franchises. His work on The Three-Body Problem, based on Liu Cixin’s bestselling science-fiction trilogy, was seen as an important milestone for Yuzu’s push into entertainment production.
