Gaming firm Nazara posts Q1 loss; Nitish Mittersain steps down as CEO

Online gaming company Nazara Technologies reported revenue from operations of Rs 429 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, down 14% year-on-year from Rs 499 crore, according to its quarterly results announced on Monday.

The decline was largely due to Nazara no longer including revenue from Nodwin Gaming in its financial results, after reducing its stake in the esports company in August 2025. Excluding Nodwin, revenue grew about 9%, the company said.

The company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 82 crore in the June quarter, against a profit of Rs 36 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) stood at Rs 46 crore, almost unchanged from Rs 47 crore a year earlier. The company also booked an impairment loss of Rs 22 crore during the quarter, while its share of losses from associate companies rose to Rs 62 crore from Rs 24 crore a year ago.


Gaming and adtech remained the company's growth drivers during the quarter. Revenue from the gaming business rose 14% year-on-year to Rs 275 crore, while adtech revenue increased 19% to Rs 126 crore.

The company said growth was led by its children's learning app Kiddoopia and in-game advertising platform Fusebox, which grew 19% and 12%, respectively. Esports revenue, however, fell to Rs 28 crore from Rs 154 crore a year earlier, following the deconsolidation of Nodwin Gaming.

CEO steps down
Separately, the company announced a leadership change. Founder Nitish Mittersain will step down as chief executive officer from September 1, while continuing as managing director. The board has appointed Raymond A. Stauffer, founder and former chief executive of Bluetile and BestPlay, as the new CEO. Mittersain, who founded Nazara in 1999, will continue to focus on the company's long-term strategy, portfolio direction, and key stakeholder relationships.

Announcing the transition, Mittersain said the move marked the company's next phase of growth. "Having led the company through two distinct phases of its evolution and seen it grow from an entrepreneurial gaming company into a significantly larger and increasingly global gaming platform, I believe this is the right time to strengthen its leadership structure with a dedicated CEO who brings deep international operating experience to lead day-to-day execution across the group," he said.

Stauffer said his focus would be on strengthening execution across product development, artificial intelligence, user acquisition, and monetisation, while preserving the entrepreneurial ownership culture across Nazara's portfolio companies.

The board also approved revised commercial terms for Nazara UK's acquisition of Spain-based gaming studio Bluetile Games and player engagement platform BestPlay Systems. Nazara had announced the $100.3 million (around Rs 918 crore) acquisition in the March quarter — its largest deal to date. Under the revised structure, the acquisition will be completed as a 100% all-cash transaction, replacing the earlier structure that included a share component, thereby avoiding immediate dilution for existing shareholders.

Earlier this year, Nazara raised Rs 500 crore through a preferential issue of warrants to help fund its acquisition strategy. The fundraise saw participation from Riambel Capital, S Gupta Family Investments, Plutus Investment and Holding, Classic Enterprises, and Founders Collective.

Separately, the board approved an additional investment of up to Rs 9.9 crore in subsidiary Funky Monkeys Play Center, an indoor family entertainment chain, increasing Nazara's stake to about 68.1%. It also approved an unsecured loan of up to Rs 24 crore for wholly owned subsidiary Smaaash Entertainment.