Gaming major Nazara, via its UK entity, has signed definitive agreements to acquire about 50% controlling stakes in Spanish casual gaming studio Bluetile Games and player engagement and distribution startup BestPlay Systems for a total of $100.3 Mn (₹918 Cr).
Of the total deal value, $88.4 Mn would fund the acquisition of 50% stake in Bluetile Games and $11.9 Mn would be used to acquire the controlling stake in BestPlay Systems. While $59.7 Mn will be paid upfront, the remaining $40.6 Mn will be paid within six months of closing the deal.
Nazara will initially acquire slightly over 50% in both entities but will get control through shareholder and governance rights. It also has a ‘Call’ option to buy the remaining stake by 2028 at a valuation of 6.6X trailing EBITDA.
The deal also includes performance-linked earn-outs of up to $98.2 Mn, tied to revenue and EBITDA targets between 2027 and 2029, with payouts scheduled between 2028 and 2030.
The transaction is structured to limit upfront risk, with a large part of the future payouts expected to be funded through the acquired companies’ own cash reserves. Nazara has also approved an investment of up to $100.3 Mn into its UK arm through a mix of equity and loans to fund the acquisition.
Bluetile operates a portfolio of casual and social mobile games such as Yatzy, Domino Legends, Mahjong Voyage and Spade Stars. The platform has scaled to about 375 Mn downloads and 22 Mn monthly active users across 17 live games.
BestPlay, which works alongside Bluetile, runs a player engagement and distribution platform with around 2.2 Mn monthly active users, helping drive user acquisition, retention and cross-promotion across games.
As per Nazara, the two businesses cumulatively reported a revenue of $153.6 Mn (₹1,405 Cr) and EBITDA of $27.7 Mn (₹254 Cr) for the year ended December 2025. The companies have seen steady growth, with revenue rising from $50.1 Mn in 2023 to $82.1 Mn in 2024 and more than doubling again in 2025.
Nazara said that the acquisition would help it establish a scalable platform for AI-enabled game development, distribution and publishing across its global gaming portfolio.
“Nazara UK’s acquisition of Bluetile and BestPlay brings proven strengths across game development, player engagement and distribution, and will add meaningful synergies to our global gaming platform. The team has embedded AI at the core of its operations — not just as a tool, but as a competitive advantage across development, marketing and live operations,” Nazara’s CEO Nitish Mittersain said.
This comes at a time when Nazara Technologies has been navigating a mixed financial performance. In Q3 FY26, the company reported a 36% YoY decline in net profit to ₹8.8 Cr, although it marked a recovery from a loss of ₹33.9 Cr in the previous quarter.
Operating revenue for the quarter fell 24% YoY to ₹406 Cr, largely due to the deconsolidation of esports arm Nodwin Gaming, which led to an 85% drop in esports revenue.
Nazara has also been actively deploying capital across its portfolio. Its board recently approved a $500K investment in nCore Games, the developer behind FAU-G, and a capital infusion of up to ₹15 Cr into content studio Rusk Media.
In parallel, the company has been expanding its offline gaming footprint through acquisitions such as Funky Monkeys and Smaaash, while continuing to invest in new gaming IP and global scale opportunities.
Shares of Nazara ended 6.76% higher at ₹255.15 on BSE.
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