“Battlegrounds Mobile India represents an opportunity for Krafton to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that does not depend on global presence”: Nimish "Nemo" Raut, former Fnatic India lead

Battlegrounds Mobile India beta access may have raised more questions than answered. Considering fans still have several queries about the upcoming launch.

While PUBG Mobile fans were ecstatic to learn about Early Access going live, the community still had concerns about the market Krafton was tapping into with BGMI and how sustainable it would be in the long run.

Former Fnatic India lead, Nimish "Nemo" Raut, was one of the many industry leads who was vocal about market flexibility and how BGMI needs to create an ecosystem that does not necessarily need to depend on a global presence and foreign investment.

In an exclusive interaction with Abhishek Mallick of Sportskeeda Esports, Nemo opened up about some of his expectations from Battlegrounds Mobile India and the title's potential to become an industry leader if Krafton plays its cards right.

The following is an excerpt of the conversation.

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Q. In a previous interview with me, you were quite vocal about some of your expectations from Battlegrounds Mobile India and what you felt Krafton needed to do to help make it an industry giant. Now with the early access beta finally live, would you say that the game is in line with some of those expectations, or are there still areas that you think the publishers need to work on?

Nemo: I am really happy that the game is back, but we are waiting to see what plans the publishers have for Battlegrounds Mobile India. Krafton is yet to discuss how they are going to build the Esports ecosystem for their title. Even though there has been a lot of noise surrounding the game, some questions are yet to be answered.

There are concerns regarding the ecosystem, as well as the teams and the players, and whether this will be a sustainable market where stakeholders can invest. Team owners might wonder what that return investment might be.

Krafton is yet to address any of these concerns or define their approach about the BGMI’s Esports ecosystem. There was a meeting between the teams and the publishers. But I don’t feel that Krafton has a concrete plan in place just yet.

However, I am happy that the first step of introducing the game is done, and now a lot of other stuff is yet to be seen.

Q. You were quite vocal about market flexibility when it came to the domestic Esports ecosystem that Battlegrounds Mobile India will be looking to create. Self-sustenance has always been one of the biggest talking points for you, and how Krafton can look to create a structure for BGMI that doesn’t need to depend much on global presence. With what you've observed from the beta so far, what do you feel are the chances of such a market coming to fruition?

Nemo: From what I have seen of the beta, I feel that there is a huge possibility for the publisher to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that does not depend on global presence.

A few days ago, when folks like MortaL and sc0ut were streaming the beta version, at one point, I think I saw the former hit close to 200k concurrent viewers. This shows that there is still an appetite for this game in the community and that people want to watch it.

It also says that the Esports scene of BGMI, if done correctly, will have a decent audience that could eventually be monetized. There will be investments coming in from brands and there should be revenue from tournament broadcasting.

But again, the question is always going to be how much of this is going to be a facade and how much of it is going to be sustainable. One of the things I feel the publisher should look into is how these 200k concurrent viewers turn into 300k and then 400k and 500k. There are probably close to a million viewers who could be watching the game over and over again, day in and day out.

This is when advertising money, brands, and broadcast revenue come in, which also needs to trickle through the ecosystem that BGMI builds. The market needs to be sustainable. If players ask for ridiculous salaries, then there needs to be a way for us to make money as a team. Otherwise, this is just going to blow back in everyone’s face.

Q. What were some of the major similarities and differences that you were able to spot in the Battlegrounds Mobile India beta compared to PUBG Mobile?

Nemo: I will not be able to comment much on the differences and similarities between the two games as I haven’t had the opportunity to try out BGMI for myself.

But inherently, it’s exactly the same community and there is exactly the same love for it.

Q4. The PUBG Mobile ban created quite a boom for PC titles in India, and games like Riot’s Valorant enjoyed a good deal of events and community participation in the last year. How much of the shift in focus do you think we can see from TOs back to Krafton’s title? What does it entail for PC Esports in India, especially keeping in mind that Valorant Mobile too is on the horizon?

Nemo: I think this will definitely have an impact. People who moved to PC games, especially Valorant, to continue engaging their audiences and to make a quick buck or try and stay relevant, will possibly stop doing that.

I don’t really think that some of the more serious tournament organizers will completely focus on just one title, which is led by one publisher. But the reality is that if viewership is lob-sided and 80% of the Esports community just wants to watch one title, and if much of the money is coming from that title alone, then as a TO (team owner), you will not be able to ignore that. As a TO, you will need to balance the two.

Valorant Mobile, trust me, will take a few years to launch. It will take a few more seasons for it to come to India, so I am not really worried about that as of yet. However, the reality is that PC titles have their own set of audiences. Unfortunately, there is not enough leverage and not enough interest from brands to pump in the money.

There are a lot of shackles in the Indian Esports industry. When investors need to put their money where their mouth is, they are often nowhere to be found.

Q5. Do you have any personal plans for Battlegrounds Mobile India? Or something that you would like to do around the title when it finally goes live later this year?

Nemo: I definitely have a lot of personal plans around the comeback. And while I will not be able to disclose much right now, I can still tell you that whatever I do in my life moving forward will, in some shape or another, be a gesture of giving back to the community and the world of Esports in the country.

Everyone knows that I have been a mainstream sports marketing guy, so I always wanted to bring that expertise to Esports.

I can definitely tell you one thing. If there are people talking about Indian Esports becoming bigger and eventually turning global, then the name Fnatic Nemo/Nimish Raut will definitely be among the top five who had the biggest impact on that. growth.

Hence, I am definitely working towards something big. I will be making that announcement soon.

But for now, I have personal plans which kind of revolve around Esports in its entirety and not BGMI alone. When I am ready, I will be happy to make the announcement with all the details.