GAMING and sports media technology company Nazara Technologies has acquired Hyderabad-based skill-based gaming company OpenPlay for about Rs 186 crore. Post this acquisition, the company will bolster its presence in the real money gaming segment. OpenPlay runs a multi-game consumer gaming platform under the 'Classic Games' brand which hosts skill-based games. This is the second acquisition for Nazara in the skill-based real money space after its last buyout of Halaplay in 2019.

For Nazara Technologies, real-money gaming contributes around three per cent of the total revenues. The company has not aggressively bet on this space due to regulatory uncertainties. However, recent verdicts on real money gaming by Indian courts have brought in some clarity on the sector. Therefore, the gaming company is eyeing more acquisitions in the space to fill gaps in its product and distribution lineups.

OpenPlay is Nazara's eighth acquisition so far and its second after the company's public listing in March."I am excited to join the 'Friends of Nazara Network' and look forward to working closely with Nazara leadership and the network to build India's largest vernacular social gaming and entertainment platform. Our technology complemented by Nazara's positioning in the gaming industry in India is the perfect combination for this endeavour," Sreeram Reddy Vanga, Founder ofOpenPlay Technologies.OpenPlay has an annualized gross gaming revenue run rate of Rs 80 crore, and is operationally profitable.

The "Friends of Nazara" network comprises established gaming companies in which Nazara holds majority stakes.These include Nodwin Gaming and Sportskeeda in Esports Next Wave Multimedia, developer of the World Cricket Championship (WCC), the largest mobile-based cricket simulation game, and Paper Boat Apps, the developers of popular gamified early learning app Kiddopia.