Gaming giant Krafton invests over $100 million in India

Gaming giant Krafton has reportedly already invested $100 million in the Indian market and is preparing to launch many new titles soon. The video game maker had vouched for an investment totalling $100 million in the Indian market two years ago.

Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO, Krafton India, said "the company also has more in the store for the country, including investments in local startups".

When asked about how much the company has spent so far out of its $100 million investment, the Krafton India CEO said: "We did reach our target and have already spent $100 million from our original investment plan. We are working towards two–three deals that should hopefully be converted in August, pushing us towards roughly $140 million being invested in the country. There have been roughly eight investments in total in the last one or one-and-a-half years. We will keep investing in gaming, gaming-related and tech startups in the country."

Sohn added: "In 2022, we may invest another $100 million in total or more in the Indian market. Although we didn't set up a fund separately for the Indian market, we are investing from our balance sheet. We have been a profitable company, especially following the IPO, and we have $2.5 billion on our balance sheet. We are investing in several markets, and India is a part of this global investment strategy. However, in India, we have a slightly broader scope given that it is a fast-growing market with several promising industries."

Elaborating on the key aspects that are taken into consideration while making investment decisions in India, he said: "The product and the space that the company is operating in are a core concern. It should be gaming, gaming-related or working in the media and entertainment sector or digital space – these are the three pillars we focus on. For example, Nodwin and Loco are not gaming studios but are a part of the gaming ecosystem that we are interested in. Pratilipi and Kuku FM are not gaming-related, but they are interesting for consumers and host original ideas or content. Other companies we invested in include Nautilus Mobile and Lila Games that are game developers based in India. We are also interested in original IPs created by India, which are expandable."

Krafton has further informed that it is aiming to be "larger than just a gaming company". The company is aiming to "bring experiences rooted in gaming", and as such has pilot projects in development, that are not games, per se. "We have some metaverse projects based on web 3 where creators can work with our platform and tools and experiment. It is at a very nascent stage at this moment." That apart, the gaming giant is also looking to launch various games in India, including one that was launched in Germany. "Our studios RisingWings and Dreamotion are also making games that could be suitable for the Indian market. Similarly, Striking Distance, a subsidiary of Krafton, is making PC games, which may be relevant to Indian consumers but will not be as big as BGMI," Sohn said.

The South Korean company that went public last year became popular worldwide after launching the 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' — a game commonly referred to as PUBG. In India, PUBG Mobile had gained more than 50 million monthly active users, making it the most popular mobile game in the country.