NODWIN, PVR Bring Esports To Big Screen For First Time In India

PVR, a cinema exhibition company, and NODWIN Gaming, a South Asian Esports company, on Monday said that both companies are collaborating for an innovative entertainment experience with the launch of India’s first in-cinema Esports live tournaments.

The pilot will commence with the popular game ‘Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)’ and going forward would include games from different genres. Gamers and gaming enthusiasts across the country will be able to participate in Online Esports Cups and In-Cinema tournaments with separate prize pools for each city. 

Akshat Rathee, MD and Co-founder, NODWIN Gaming, said, “NODWIN Gaming has always emphasized the importance of reinforcing grassroots development that can be a strong and reliable foundation for esports, and this property is a step in that direction. City-level penetration of professional esports leads to solid exposure for the grassroots ecosystem and as seen in the past, the more exposed the grassroots is, the better it gets at the higher tiers. This in turn paves the way for the collective growth of all tiers of professional players. Our association with PVR Cinemas opens a corridor towards mainstreaming esports and placing it right in the middle of the entertainment industry. Esports as an upcoming medium of interactive entertainment has had its fair share of visibility in the jam-packed arenas but it’s about time that we bring an action to the silver screen. NODWIN, along with building grassroots support, will also give its audience a premium watching experience with this partnership."

This initiative is expected to fast-track esports entertainment’s growth trajectory in India by combining the appeal of esports gaming with the magic of the big-screen experience. 

“At PVR, we strive to continually evolve as an entertainment destination, offering our customers the opportunity to have an entertaining escape into more than just big films. Our immersive environment lends itself particularly well to the gaming community, putting players in the universes in which they are competing. We are excited to bring big games to the big screen in collaboration with NODWIN Gaming”, said Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR.

The quarter-final, semi-final, and finals of the cups, in each participating city, will be broadcasted in select PVR Cinemas, along with live streams on various digital platforms, including NODWIN and PVR mobile app.   

“Our purpose at PVR is to gather, grow and entertain communities. With us becoming a part of the Indian esports ecosystem, we have the opportunity to serve our purpose by giving PVR communities another entertaining way to gather on our esports platform. The NODWIN team has a relentless passion for gaming, we are delighted to be partnering with them on this initiative” said Kamal Gianchandani, Chief of Strategy, PVR.