The Pokémon Company, with Skyesports as the esports partner, has announced an exciting new grassroots esports tournament, the Pokémon UNITE Winter Tournament India 2025. Open for all players across the country, this competition offers an opportunity for aspiring pro players to represent India on the global stage.

Registrations for the tournament are now live and will remain open until Jan. 29, 2025. Players from across the country can sign up on the official website to secure their spot and compete for national pride and international glory.

The Pokémon UNITE Winter Tournament boasts a massive prize pool of $10,000. The stakes are even higher, though, as the tournament winner will join the champion of the Pokémon UNITE ACL India League as India’s representatives in an international tournament. This international competition is the Pokémon UNITE Asia Champions League 2025 Finals which will bring the best-of-the-best from across Asia to Shinjuku, Japan on March 29 and 30 to fight for the ultimate title!

• The Pokémon UNITE Winter Tournament India 2025 will begin with the Qualifier Stage, which will follow a single-elimination bracket.
• The top 16 teams from the qualifiers will advance to the Group Stage. Here, they will be evenly split into 4 groups where a single round-robin format will be followed.
• Finally, the top two teams from each group will progress to the Playoffs. These top 8 teams will compete in this penultimate stage across a double-elimination bracket for glory and the chance to represent India on the international stage.

The Pokémon Company executive said, “While the ACL India League supports the top-tier organizations of the country, the Winter Tournament highlights our commitment to grassroots development. By supporting players at every level—from grassroots to the pro scene—we aim to ensure the sustainable growth of Pokémon UNITE esports in India.”

Commenting on the tournament, Shiva Nandy, Founder and CEO of Skyesports, said, “With the ongoing Pokémon UNITE ACL India League bringing esports action to thousands of players, we are now thrilled to introduce the open-for-all Pokémon UNITE Winter Tournament. This competition gives every aspiring pro player a chance to shine and represent the country in Japan. As long-term partners of The Pokémon Company, the tournament underscores Skyesports’ vision of giving Indian players and teams a chance to compete on the global stage. I wish the best of luck to all participants.”

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With its intense 10-minute matches, Pokémon UNITE has seen remarkable growth in India, attracting a vibrant community of players and fans. The Winter Tournament is the latest effort to nurture and expand this ecosystem.

Today’s announcement follows the Pokémon UNITE ACL India League, where The Pokémon Company has directly invited India’s top eight esports organizations to compete, which includes the likes of S8UL, GodLike, Revenant XSpark, and Global Esports. The tournament, currently ongoing, is set to wrap up on Jan. 26, 2025. Immediately after, Skyesports will kick off the Pokémon UNITE Winter Tournament to continue the momentum of Pokémon UNITE esports in the country.

The complete schedule for the Pokémon UNITE Winter Tournament India 2025 is as follows:

• Registrations: Until Jan. 29
• Qualifier Stage: Feb. 1 and 2
• Group Stage: Feb. 8
• Playoffs: Feb. 9

Max Level, a leading marketing and PR agency built by gamers has been awarded the public relations and social media mandates for 88 Games, the newly announced game development division of 88 Pictures, the animation and VFX studio behind Emmy and Annie Award-winning show Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, as well as global hits like Gremlins: Secret of Mogwai, Transformers: The Earth Spark Season 2, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, and Fast & Furious: Spy Racers. The partnership marks a significant step in shaping the public presence of 88 Games as it aims to bring India’s cultural heritage to global gaming audiences.

The collaboration will see Max Level leveraging its deep expertise at the intersection of gaming and media landscape to highlight 88 Games’ initiatives in the international gaming industry. The mandate encompasses strategic outreach, storytelling, and other initiatives to build and support the studio’s ambitious game titles and vision of blending immersive gameplay with India’s rich storytelling traditions.

Commenting on the partnership, Milind D. Shinde, Founder & CEO of 88 Games, said “88 Games is a unique venture that blends our expertise in animation and VFX with our passion for telling stories, through an interactive medium. Our mission is to deliver culturally resonant, visually stunning and immersive stories through games for the global audiences. With Max Level’s proven track record in PR and social media, we’re excited to build a compelling brand narrative and connect with players and industry leaders worldwide.”

With a gamut of achievements under its belt, the launch of 88 Games further diversifies the company’s position as a leader in storytelling, expanding its portfolio to interactive experiences.

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Siddharth Nayyar, Co-founder & Chief Revenue Officer of Max Level, shared his excitement about the collaboration, “Being gamers first, we were absolutely amazed by the projects that 88 Games is working on and we were eager to work alongside them. Hence, being entrusted with the PR and social media mandate of 88 Games is an incredible opportunity for us. 88 Games’ vision of creating culturally resonant games aligns perfectly with our passion for amplifying impactful stories. Together, we aim to position 88 Games as a leader in the Indian and global gaming industry, showcasing the untapped potential of Indian narratives in interactive entertainment.”

88 Games, led by industry veterans Milind D. Shinde and Shiben Bhattacharjee, is developing a lineup of games inspired by India’s folklore and history.

The collaboration reflects the rapid growth of India’s gaming market, which added 23 million new gamers in FY24, bringing the total to 590 million players. With the industry projected to exceed $9.2 billion by FY29, 88 Games aims to fill a crucial gap by offering premium, culturally significant PC and console games to a global audience.

The addition of 88 Games to its already diverse portfolio of brands underscores Max Level’s growing market share in the Indian gaming, esports and tech market.With a portfolio including brands like NODWIN Gaming, SuperGaming, CyberPowerPC India, KRAFTON, Saudi Esports Federation, ESL Faceit Group, The Esports World Cup, ASUS ROG, Jio Games, TVS, and HyperX, Max Level continues to grow its client base while maintaining a focus on delivering tailored PR and marketing services that resonate with gaming and esports audiences.

Nazara and Lysto have signed a Letter of Intent to launch The Growth Protocol, an L1 infrastructure layer, purpose-built for digital marketing and growth applications on the blockchain. 

The Growth Protocol is a purpose-built L1 blockchain and a collaboration between Nazara Technologies FZ LLE, a 100% owned subsidiary of Nazara Techologies Limited that is India’s only publicly listed gaming company, and Lysto, the gaming world’s one-stop shop funded by leading VCs like Hashed, SquarePeg, Tiger Global, Distributed Global, Beenext, and prominent angels like Balaji Srinivasan, Sandeep Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, Bobby Ong, and T.M. Lee.

Designed to revolutionize the digital marketing landscape, The Growth Protocol aims to bring greater transparency, equity, and monetary benefits to all participants in the Web3 marketing ecosystem. By leveraging blockchain technology, the protocol empowers users through decentralization to take control of their digital identities and participate in decentralized, trustless interactions. 

The Growth Protocol makes its public debut at India Blockchain Week, a significant event for the Web3 community globally. Alongside a private testnet launch, the team released a proof-of-concept loyalty dApp for game marketing, showcasing the practical application of Web3 technology in the gaming industry.

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Speaking at IBW, Nitish Mittersain, CEO and Jt. MD of Nazara, shared his vision for innovations in the gaming sector and expressed his enthusiasm for bringing Nazara’s game marketing to the Web3 space. Speaking at India Blockchain Week, Nitish said, “We are very happy to innovate on new and upcoming technologies such as web3, VR & AI and look forward to integrating our games with releveant web3 technologies that can add value to our players.”

Sadiq Ahamed Shaik, CEO of Lysto, and Founder, The Growth Protocol, said, “The Growth Protocol is a platform for developers and all marketing roles. Our team is working with developers to launch a series of growth applications on the L1 blockchain, empowering users through decentralization for marketing and growth initiatives.”

The Growth Protocol team, composed of experienced professionals previously at Microsoft and Google, is actively engaging with Web3 developers, key opinion leaders, and marketing professionals at India Blockchain Week, fostering collaboration and innovation.

The Web3 community at IBW is invited to meet the team in person, join the test net launch, and participate in rewarding quests. For those who won’t be at IBW are welcome to connect with The Growth Protocol through their website and social channels on X or LinkedIn and more.”