Nazara and Lysto Collaborate to Enhance Web3 Play

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Dec 5, 2024 — 3 min read

Nazara and Lysto Join Forces to Boost Web3 Ecosystem

Nazara Technologies, a publicly traded gaming company, said that it has paid $500K (about INR 4.17 Cr) to acquire an 8.5% share in the Web3 gaming platform Circle of Games (COG). According to a separate announcement from Circle of Games, the investment was a part of a bigger funding round worth $1 million (about INR 8.3 crore), in which Swiss non-profit The Hashgraph Association also participated. Nazara said in a regulatory filing with the bourses on April 17 that its business in Dubai had purchased 1,273 class A1 preferred shares of Circle of Games' parent company, COG Holdings Global Ltd.

As part of the agreement, Nazara Dubai will also be granted 891 more "advisory shares" in the business. The listed gaming giant will own 8.5% of the Web3 gaming company overall. According to Nazara, the cash-only agreement would be carried out in one or more installments.

Collaboration will Provide Win-Win Situation for Both the Firm

According to the firm run by Nitish Mittersain, the acquisition of the stake will enable it to increase its footprint in the Web3 and blockchain gaming markets. The agreement will also enable the two businesses to take advantage of team and technology synergies. According to a statement from Circle of Games, the $1 million will be used to develop platform capabilities, expedite its go-to-market (GTM) strategy, and increase its presence in the US, EU, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. A portion of the funds will also be used to diversify its gaming offerings. According to Rabilal Thapa, cofounder and CEO of Circle of Games, "Nazara will provide strategic guidance, support, and access to its extensive network to help the company grow."

This partnership goes beyond simple financial investment. "We are happy to further empower the global Web3 gaming industry through our co-investment with Nazara Technologies in Circle of Games, the leading Web3 multi-gaming app that aims to onboard the next billion users onto the Hedera network," said Kamal Youssefi, president of the Hashgraph Association, in a statement regarding the fundraising effort. Thapa, Rajeeb VC, and Rohit Tiwari founded the Web3 casual multi-gaming platform Circle of Games in 2022. The company, which is based in the British Virgin Islands, says it has over 2.5 lakh Android users enrolled and plans to add 100 million users to its Web3 gaming platform by 2026. Additionally, it makes use of its alliances with Web3 initiatives and ecosystems, including Chingari and Solana, which provide it access to a gaming community of over 500 million members across more than 50 countries.

Nazara on Acquisition Spree

By the end of June 2024, Circle of Games intends to introduce its native coin ($COG) in an effort to attract more users to the site. The development coincides with Nazara's acquiring spree. The gaming giant announced last month that it had set aside $100 million for mergers and acquisitions over the next two years. In February of this year, the company purchased Ninja Global FZCO (Ninja), a gaming and esports production company, as part of this. Before that, it had invested two tranches of funds in Freaks 4U Gaming, a full-service gaming and esports agency based in Germany. NODWIN Gaming, the listed giant's esports business, also revealed in January that it had paid INR 55 Cr in cash and stock to acquire 100% ownership in Comic Con India.