Asia
How iQOO’s Hunt For India’s Next Big Gaming Streamer became the biggest platform to spotlight upcoming streamers across 2.5k+ participating YouTube channels and 2M+ live audiences

Gamers and streamers are burgeoning in the country and the numbers are increasing exponentially. This new behavioural change is a trend watched closely by platforms and brands since the audience for these streamers are the most coveted – youth. Engagement rates are unique to just this medium.
There are stories of gamers and streamers from modest backgrounds who have made it big by being good at two things – esports and entertainment. So what is a “raid?” A raid is when a YouTuber/ Streamer with a significant following, asks his/ her viewers to go and watch another creator’s live stream. Case in point – GamerFleet. A young man from Haldwani, Uttarakhand who was streaming to double digit audiences when he was ‘raided’ by Samay Raina. After the raid, he continued to grow organically not just because of his personality and collaboration with Samay Raina and Tanmay Bhat. Cut to a few months later and GamerFleet has over a million subscribers. This is the beauty of a ‘raid’.
So Raid Nights was born. This is the brainchild of Tanmay Bhat in partnership with iQOO – a phone company that puts the gamer before the game. The idea was executed by OML Entertainment with technical partners – Sky eSports. This property was only possible by the power of the platform that is YouTube. Tanmay Bhat, Samay Raina and GamerFleet have been online every Friday evening for the last one month with their new live-streaming property, iQOO Raid Nights. The three content creators (Also known as raid bosses) presented a once in a lifetime opportunity to aspiring gaming streamers where they would raid the YouTube channels of upcoming streamers asking their subscribers to tune in and watch the live-stream of the channel they would raid, resulting in the aspiring creators seeing increase in live-streaming numbers like never before.
Here’s how iQOO Raid Nights happened.
Every Friday from 25th June to 23rd July there were 4 rounds of qualifiers and a grand finale. Participants would stream live on their YouTube channel using the hashtag #iQOORaidNights and the raid bosses would randomly pick and choose which channel they wanted to raid. 2.4k YouTube channels garnered over 8.9k user-generated videos in this time, hoping they would get “raided.” The winners were chosen via a YouTube poll where the audience voted for their favourite performers. Two winners from each qualifier episode won a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 and an iQOO 7 Legend phone. There were super interesting performances and channels that the viewers came across. Some channels that captured people’s imagination were Gamer Mummy – A mother of two young adults who streams Minecraft everyday, kukZy Gaming – a gamer who also raps and beatboxes while playing the piano at the same time, Matata QHouse – who did hybrid dance performances with a mix of pre-recorded footage, visual effects and live webcam.
The winner of the first edition of iQOO Raid Nights was Mechanical Pandey – an entertainer who did a rap and dance performance. He also performed a short sketch of him doing random things and being beaten up by his mother which got huge laughs from the audience. The winner got a gaming setup worth Rs. 2,50,000 as the grand prize. The runner-ups were Shiny Kash – A gamer + rapper and The He Man Show – A streamer who lives in his shop and streams every night. He had created special art pieces for iQOO Raid Nights featuring the faces of the raid bosses.
iQOO Raid Nights was hosted by Tanmay Bhat, Samay Raina and GamerFleet on their respective YouTube Channels and was coordinated and executed by OML Entertainment.
Quotes:
Tanmay Bhat – Raid Nights is something that I’ve always wanted to do at scale. It was great to see that brands like iQOO and YouTube supported this property. The creativity that some streamers bring to the table is something that the audience must discover. One of my favourite channels from this edition was Matata QHouse. Their creativity and performance in the qualifiers just blew my mind
Samay Raina – Live Streaming suddenly grew during Covid quarenatines and many creators tried to showcase their characters and personas on stream although they couldn’t reach out to more people. I’m glad iQOO Raid Nights helped these creators gain a massive amount of reach and an opportunity to showcase their talent. It was a great feeling watching people showcase their unique, unrecognised talent everytime we would raid them. Much love to iQOO for supporting us with this property
GamerFleet – One day I was just randomly streaming with about 500 views and suddenly it shot up to 5,000. That was when Tanmay Bhat raided me as a part of the initial stages of Raid Nights a few months ago. That particular raid helped me garner a lot more reach than usual and then a lot of people started following my content and started tuning in live while I stream. This is exactly what iQOO Raid Nights did with all the streamers who were a part of it. When you have a small channel and your watching increases, the YouTube algorithm sees that the channel is performing better and it recommends the channel more often. I really loved all the channels we raided, but Matata QHouse was my favourite one
Mechanical Pandey (Winner) – iQOO Raid Nights helped me quite a lot in terms of expanding my reach and discovering my creative abilities. I’m glad to have been a part of this wonderful event and I also believe Tanmay-bhai and Samay-bhai would want to stream with me in the future which I’m really looking forward to. My YouTube numbers increased tremendously and I’m glad a lot of people have now discovered me and my craziness. I’d really like to thank all the people who voted for me, and primarily Tanmay-bhai, Samay-bhai and Fleet-bhai for tuning in to my channel in the middle of all the 1500 channels that were streaming in the week I had participated, and giving me an opportunity to entertain and bring smiles on about 1 lakh people’s faces across 2 streams. I’m super excited to get my hands on the new gaming setup that I’ve won.
Gunjan Arya (CEO, OML Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.) – We are always on the lookout for upcoming talent that we can support, and have been bullish on online gaming for some time now. We’re super thrilled to have partnered with iQOO and YouTube in a way that is not only rewarding for the brand and the platform but for the online gaming space as a whole. The power of Creators + Brand + Platform really came together for a proper OP moment. Tanmay’s guidance and the super Samay and GamerFleet to boot have been invaluable collaborators. We came across a lot of new streamers including the incredible Gamer Mummy through the campaign and we will continue to do a lot more of this.
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Aquisitions/Mergers
Gregorio Araneta to Sell its Entire 57% Stake in PhilWeb to Nexora Holdings and Velora Holdings

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Philippine eGames provider PhilWeb’s principal shareholder Gregorio Araneta Inc (GAINC) is going to sell its entire 57% stake in PhilWeb to Nexora Holdings Inc and Velora Holdings Inc for a total consideration of Php1.8 billion (US$30.8 million), representing 829,574,354 common shares.
GAINC is owned by Gregorio “Greggy” Araneta III, a member of the powerful Araneta family and the brother-in-law of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Given that the transaction would involve control of more than 35% of the outstanding voting shares of PhilWeb, the buyers will be required to conduct a mandatory tender offer to remaining shareholders to acquire full control of the company as per local laws.
PhilWeb noted that the buyers are closely linked to the company, with current PhilWeb President & Director Edgar Brian K. Ng also serving as President, Chairman & a Director of Nexora, while current PhilWeb Vice Chairman and Director Crisanto Roy B. Alcid is a Director and the Treasurer of Nexora.
The post Gregorio Araneta to Sell its Entire 57% Stake in PhilWeb to Nexora Holdings and Velora Holdings appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
ArenaPlus
DigiPlus Announces Partnership with Bayad

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DigiPlus Interactive Corp. (DigiPlus), the pioneer in digital entertainment in the Philippines, announced an exclusive partnership with Bayad, a trusted authority in bills payment services, to expand over-the-counter (OTC) or physical payment options for players of BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone.
The partnership was formally signed on October 8, 2025, led by top executives from both companies: Eusebio H. Tanco, Chairman of DigiPlus; Jasper Vicencio, President of AB Leisure Exponent Inc., a subsidiary of DigiPlus; Ray C. Espinosa, Chairman of Bayad; and Lawrence Y. Ferrer, President and CEO of Bayad. The agreement is effective immediately, making DigiPlus Bayad’s only gaming partner for OTC cash transactions.
Through this collaboration, DigiPlus customers gain access to Bayad’s extensive network of payment touchpoints, present across 800+ Bayad Center branches and Bayad Partners in malls, supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide.
Bayad is accredited by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as an Electronic Money Issuer (EMI). DigiPlus partners only with BSP-accredited payment channels in accordance with the requirements of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), ensuring that all player wallet transactions are processed through secure and compliant payment platforms.
BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone players can now make cash-ins or deposits through Bayad. Additional features including cash-outs or withdrawals and access through the Bayad App will be rolled out in next phases, providing DigiPlus customers with more options to manage their funds conveniently and safely.
“At DigiPlus, our priority is to deliver engaging entertainment while ensuring safe and reliable services for our players. This partnership with Bayad provides customers with more secure and convenient ways to manage their transactions, reinforcing our commitment to player protection and dependable service at every touchpoint,” said Eusebio H. Tanco, Chairman of DigiPlus Interactive Corp.
“Today, we take another meaningful step forward through our partnership with DigiPlus. Together, we’re expanding access to digital channels and offering new, engaging, and responsible ways for Filipinos to experience convenience and entertainment made possible by accessible and inclusive financial services,” said Atty. Ray C. Espinosa, Chairman of the Board at Bayad.
The Bayad payment channels partnership adds to DigiPlus’ growing customer service network and player support, which already includes its in-house 24/7 customer support, 130+ physical BingoPlus stores nationwide and a surety bond for player wallets. These expanding service touchpoints reflect DigiPlus’ continued commitment to delivering digital entertainment with safe, reliable and accessible service for Filipinos.
The post DigiPlus Announces Partnership with Bayad appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Akshat Rathee
PlayStation and NODWIN Gaming Announce the Fourth Edition of the PlayStation India Cup Featuring EA SPORTS FC 26

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NODWIN Gaming, a leader in new-age youth entertainment, gaming and esports, has announced the fourth edition of the PlayStation India Cup, featuring EA SPORTS FC 26, exclusively on PS5 console.
The tournament marks the return of India’s only official console esports tournament, and features daily online qualifiers, followed by an online playoffs. The top 8 players will progress to the grand finale, which will take place during Delhi Comic Con at NSIC Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, from 5th December to 7th December 2025. Fans will witness the country’s top EA FC 26 players competing for a total prize pool of ₹4,00,000. With the rise of football fandom in India and the ever-growing EA SPORTS FC community, this year’s championship promises bigger competition and unmatched excitement.
The previous edition of the India Cup Finals at Delhi Comic Con 2024 also featured an immersive PlayStation gaming pavilion with hands-on demos and live commentary, which saw strong engagement from Comic Con attendees.
This year, in addition to the sizable prize pool, all finalists will receive official PlayStation merchandise, making the competition even more rewarding for players who make it to the big stage.
How to Register
Registrations for the PlayStation India Cup started on October 08, 2025. Players across India can participate in the daily online qualifiers through the following steps:
Step-by-Step Registration Process
Step 1: Boot up the PlayStation 5 and ensure it is connected to the internet.
Step 2: Navigate to the “Events” or “Tournaments” section on the PS5 dashboard.
Step 3: Look for the “PlayStation India Cup FC 26” (EA SPORTS FC 26) tournament listing.
Step 4: Select the tournament and follow the on-screen prompts to complete registration.
Step 5: Confirm participation and monitor notifications for match schedules or additional requirements.
The Daily Cups conclude on November 10, 2025. Players are encouraged to register early to secure their spot in the daily qualifiers.
Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder and Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming, said: “The console esports scene in India is a premium niche, and the PlayStation India Cup with EA FC captures that perfectly. Delhi Comic Con, where our journey began over a decade ago, provides the ideal stage, bringing together fans who love both pop culture and competitive gaming. Hosting the tournament in our 40,000 sq. ft. Gaming Arena adds to the festive spirit of Comic Con, where football fans can compete, cheer, and experience EA FC like never before. It’s a true celebration of Delhi’s vibrant fandom and the growing console esports community in India.”
The tournament will be amplified with influencer-led content, live streams and weekly updates, ensuring both players and fans remain engaged throughout the journey.
The post PlayStation and NODWIN Gaming Announce the Fourth Edition of the PlayStation India Cup Featuring EA SPORTS FC 26 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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