Pixel P&L: Crunchyroll Taps Bollywood and Cricket Stars For New Campaign

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 5 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

• Crunchyroll taps Rashmika Mandanna and Shubman Gill to push anime into India's mainstream.

• Sony leans heavily on God of War remake and familiar franchises in its 2026 PlayStation lineup.

• Electronic Arts reports $254M in mobile revenue as its $55 billion buyout nears completion.

• Nexon posts record revenue for the third straight year as Arc Raiders sells 14 million copies.

• Over 1,200 Ubisoft employees walk out in a three-day international strike.

Let's get into it.

Crunchyroll Bets on Cricket and Bollywood Star Power to Push Anime Into India's Mainstream

Crunchyroll is launching "Ready to Anime?", an India-focused brand campaign featuring actress Rashmika Mandanna and cricketer Shubman Gill as brand ambassadors. The two-part ad series will debut during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, with a second film airing during the IPL season. Spots will also run during Shark Tank India Season 5 on Sony LIV.

The push comes as anime viewership grows in India. A 2025 National Research Group study commissioned by Crunchyroll found 62% of surveyed general entertainment viewers in India said they "like" or "love" Japanese anime. Among teenagers, that figure hit 74%.

Raúl González Bernal, Crunchyroll's vice president of regional marketing, said pairing Rashmika, an established anime fan, with Gill, who is newer to the medium, reflects how the audience is expanding beyond core fans.

The campaign, developed by Tilt Brand Solutions and produced by StudioQ under Quotient Ventures, will run across television, connected TV, digital, and social media nationwide.

Sony Leans on Familiar Franchises to Anchor its 2026 PlayStation Lineup

Sony Interactive Entertainment used its latest State of Play presentation on Thursday to lay out an ambitious slate of more than 30 games, drawing heavily on established intellectual property as the company looks to maintain momentum in an increasingly competitive console market.

The centerpiece was a remake of the original God of War trilogy, one of PlayStation's most commercially successful franchises. Sony paired the announcement with an unusual move: a same-day digital release of God of War: Sons of Sparta, a 2D spin-off designed to build anticipation for the larger project.

Konami, which has spent recent years reviving dormant series, had a particularly active night. The Japanese publisher confirmed Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection 2, bringing Metal Gear Solid 4 to current hardware after years of fan demand. It also announced Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, developed by the studios behind indie hits Dead Cells and The Rogue Prince of Persia, signaling Konami's continued willingness to partner with external teams on its legacy properties.

New IPs made limited but notable appearances. Saber Interactive unveiled a John Wick action game featuring Keanu Reeves, and Krafton's Montreal studio revealed Project Windless, an adaptation of the Korean fantasy novel The Bird that Drinks Tears. Remedy Entertainment and Housemarque, two of Sony's key studio partners, showed progress on Control Resonant and Saros respectively.

Sony also set near-term expectations: Death Stranding 2 arrives on PC next month, and Bungie will hold a public preview weekend for its long-awaited multiplayer shooter Marathon later in February.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Electronic Arts Reports $254 Million in Mobile Revenue as $55 Billion Buyout Nears Completion

Electronic Arts posted $254 million in net mobile revenue for Q3 of its 2026 fiscal year, an 8% year-over-year decline. Overall net revenue rose 1% to $1.9 billion, while net bookings jumped 38% to $3 billion. EA skipped its quarterly earnings call as its $55 billion all-cash deal to go private, led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, awaits regulatory approval ahead of an expected Q1 FY2027 close.

Nexon Posts Record Revenue for Third Straight Year as Arc Raiders Sells 14 Million Copies

Nexon reported full-year 2025 revenue of ¥475.1 billion ($3.1 billion), up 6.5% year-over-year, marking a third consecutive record. Net income fell 31.7% to ¥92.05 billion ($601.2 million). Embark Studios' Arc Raiders, released in October 2025, was the company's biggest launch ever, selling 14 million copies and hitting 960,000 peak concurrent users. Nexon projects Q1 2026 revenue growth between 32% and 44%.

Over 1,200 Ubisoft Employees Walk Out in Three-Day International Strike

At least 1,200 Ubisoft employees joined a three-day international strike from February 10-12, with most participation in France. The walkout followed the company's January announcement of studio closures, six game cancellations, and up to 200 proposed job cuts at its Paris headquarters. Unions criticized a five-day return-to-office mandate and years of stagnant pay. Ubisoft's share price recently hit a 15-year low.

⚔️Side Quest

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💡Did You Know

An Iraqi gamer's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 collector's edition was seized by customs after officials suspected the included art book might be a genuine historical artifact. Reddit user Ahmed15252 shared documents showing the package was flagged for "cultural significance" and forwarded to Iraq's Ministry of Culture and Antiquities for review. "Customs opened the package and decided the art book looked a bit too ancient. Drawings, symbols, vibes," the player wrote. The book was sent to the Iraqi Museum's Technical Committee to confirm it was, in fact, a modern video game art book and not a lost artifact.

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