Nazara Technologies Limited has announced the grant of employee stock options under its Employee Stock Option Scheme 2025, marking a significant step in its employee compensation strategy. The company's Nomination, Remuneration and Compensation Committee approved the grant through a circular resolution on March 02, 2026.

ESOP Grant Details

The company has granted a substantial number of stock options to enhance employee participation in its growth story. The grant represents a meaningful allocation under the ESOP 2025 scheme, demonstrating the company's commitment to aligning employee interests with shareholder value creation.

Pricing and Exercise Terms

The exercise price of Rs. 264.80 per option was determined based on the closing price of Nazara Technologies shares on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited on February 27, 2026. This pricing methodology ensures fair valuation based on prevailing market conditions at the time of grant approval.

The options carry a structured exercise framework designed to promote long-term employee retention:

• Minimum vesting period: 1 year from grant date
• Exercise window: 5 years from vesting date
• Vesting conditions: As specified in individual grant letters and ESOP 2025 terms

Key Terms and Conditions

The ESOP grant incorporates several important provisions to protect both employee and company interests:

Regulatory Compliance

The grant has been structured in full compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The company has provided comprehensive disclosure as required under Regulation 30, ensuring transparency for all stakeholders.

The ESOP 2025 scheme operates within the framework of SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021, providing regulatory certainty and standardized practices. This compliance framework ensures that the scheme meets all statutory requirements while providing flexibility for effective implementation.

Strategic Significance

This ESOP grant reflects Nazara Technologies' strategic approach to talent retention and motivation in the competitive gaming and sports media industry. By offering equity participation, the company aims to create long-term value alignment between employees and shareholders, fostering a culture of ownership and performance excellence.

Nazara Technologies delivered strong operational performance in Q3FY26, demonstrating significant margin expansion and profitability turnaround. The gaming company reported consolidated net profit from continuing operations of ₹8.8 crores compared to a loss of ₹33.9 crores in the previous quarter, showcasing effective execution of its profit-led growth strategy.

Financial Performance Highlights

The company's financial metrics showed robust profitability improvements with EBITDA margins expanding significantly both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. The results reflect the impact of disciplined capital allocation and focus on scalable gaming operations.

For the nine-month period, Nazara demonstrated exceptional growth momentum with revenue increasing 29.7% YoY to ₹1,431.2 crores and EBITDA surging 73% YoY to ₹177.2 crores, with margins expanding to 12.4%.

Gaming Segment Delivers Strong Performance

The mobile gaming division achieved impressive results with the gaming segment delivering a 25% EBITDA margin in Q3FY26. The company's focus on scalable gaming IP and franchises showed positive momentum across multiple properties.

Kiddopia Recovery Through Centre of Excellence Strategy

The implementation of Centres of Excellence across User Acquisition, Data Analytics, Growth, and Product functions proved instrumental in Kiddopia's performance turnaround. The educational gaming app achieved subscriber growth recovery in Q3FY26 after several quarters of decline. CEO Nitish Mittersain highlighted that the company maintained disciplined user acquisition costs while scaling marketing spend, with cost per trial improving from $37.5 to $35.8 despite increased spending.

Strategic Investments and Business Expansion

The board approved strategic investments including nCore Games, developers of the made-in-India franchise 'FAU-G', and a primary capital infusion of up to ₹15 crores into Rusk Media, a mobile-first entertainment platform for Gen-Z and Gen-A audiences. These minority investments underscore Nazara's commitment to supporting the Indian gaming ecosystem while maintaining strategic flexibility for future monetization or acquisition opportunities.

Diversified Portfolio Performance

The PC and Console publishing division maintained strong performance with ₹70.9 crores revenue and ₹27.8 crores EBITDA in Q3FY26. The offline gaming segment delivered healthy margins with approximately 36% EBITDA margin, while the AdTech division showed robust growth momentum. Management indicated plans to expand Funky Monkey centers at one to two locations per month, with each center achieving breakeven within 18-24 months.

Adjusted for Nodwin deconsolidation, Q3FY26 YoY revenue growth stood at 9.8%, reflecting the underlying strength of Nazara's core gaming operations and successful implementation of strategic initiatives across multiple business verticals.