S.Korea’s Krafton to nurture 6 new game studios in India

Krafton Inc., the publisher of global mega-hit “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), has selected six new Indian game studios to join its gaming startup incubation program for this year, ramping up efforts to expand its foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing gaming markets.

Krafton India, the Indian operation of the South Korean gaming giant, on Monday announced a list of six new game studios based in India that will receive up to $150,000 in funding, along with structured mentorship, market access and technical resources for six months to one year to develop games.

The selected studios for the second cohort of the Krafton India Gaming Incubator (KIGI), ranging from mobile casual games to narrative-driven RPGs, include Kleanup Games, Advaita Interactive, Singular Scheme, Smash Head Studio, Unwind Games and Ginger Games.

The KIGI is a mentorship-focused incubation program launched by Krafton in 2023 to support and accelerate India's game development ecosystem.

With the latest KIGI team, Krafton is doubling down on its India push as part of its efforts to diversify its intellectual property portfolio with new games in the South Asian country, poised to grow as one of the world’s most vibrant gaming markets.

INDIA PUSH FOR IP DIVERSIFICATION 

Betting big on India’s gaming industry, Krafton has invested over $170 million in several Indian startups across interactive entertainment, gaming, esports and technology since 2021.

In March, it acquired Indian game developer Nautilus Mobile for $14 million.

Chang Byung-gyu, chairman of Krafton’s board of directors, has been a strong advocate of the Indian gaming market since his visit to India in 2017.

“At KIGI, we are dedicated to unlocking new opportunities for them (gaming startups) to thrive,” said Anuj Sahani, head of Krafton India Incubator Program and India publishing advisor.

“With an expanded cohort, a wider regional focus and strengthened partnerships with some of the biggest names in technology, we are equipping game developers with the resources, mentorship and support they need to build games that can stand out globally.”

Krafton, dedicated to shaping India’s growth as a global powerhouse in game development, partners with AWS, AccelByte, AppMagic and Liftoff’s GameRefinery to provide the new cohort of KIGI cloud services, analytics tools and marketing insights.

The incubator's inaugural batch, launched in 2023, supported four studios, including ReDimension Games and Shura Games, several of which have already launched or soft-launched their titles.

The Korean gaming giant’s PUBG has become one of India’s smash-hit games since the launch of its Indian version, “Battlegrounds Mobile India” (BGMI) in July 2021.

Its cumulative downloads have surpassed 200 million.

Write to Eun-Yi Ko at koko@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.