Krafton Plans Another India Studio Deal After $250 Million Bet

Krafton has spent $250 million on Indian digital entertainment, gaming and fintech startups as of September — and it's in advanced talks to buy another studio in the country. Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India, laid out the plan in an interview with Bloomberg News, signaling that the Seoul-based company sees India as the proving ground for its next global franchise.

The stakes are real. Krafton built its name on PUBG: Battlegrounds, the title that kicked off the battle royale genre, but it hasn't produced a second IP with anywhere near that reach. The company is now stretching PUBG into a broader entertainment universe that goes beyond games, and in India it's actively hunting for its next tentpole title.

Sohn is direct about why he believes the bet pays off. "I firmly believe that India can produce globally recognized gaming IP," he told Bloomberg News. "Given the potential talent pool, and given the quality of entertainment products coming out of India, I think it's getting widely accepted by global audiences."

Why India, and why now?

The global games industry is still digesting a painful post-pandemic slowdown. Layoffs and studio closures have hit hard, especially in higher-cost regions like the US. India offers a deep pool of software engineering talent at a better cost — even though the country hasn't yet built a strong reputation in game development specifically.

That gap is closing, Sohn argues, and Krafton wants to be positioned when it does. India already ranks among the company's top five markets by revenue, and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) — the localized PUBG rebrand launched in 2021 — is approaching 270 million downloads. To put that in perspective, that's roughly equivalent to one download for every five people in the country.

Krafton has also already made one studio move. Last year it bought a controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile, the Pune-based maker of the mobile game Real Cricket.

What does this change for developers and investors?

For Indian studios, the message is that Krafton isn't chasing raw ideas — it wants proven execution. "We are trying to find and invest more in a team that has gone through at least one or two cycle of developments, so that there is a proven capacity," Sohn said. Teams with a shipped title or two under their belt are the natural acquisition targets; first-time founders probably aren't on the shortlist.

Internally, Krafton runs a 12-person core team in Bangalore, the southern tech hub, working to diversify the company's catalog beyond battle royale. That team could grow to as many as 50 people over the next two years, Sohn said. Artificial intelligence will help bridge India's shortage of experienced gaming talent — a practical answer to a market where seasoned game developers are scarce.

The timing is tricky, though. New games now compete against a glut of entertainment options and a handful of so-called evergreen titles that players return to habitually. PUBG, as BGMI, is one of those evergreens — which cuts both ways. It anchors Krafton's Indian revenue while making the case for a second franchise harder to crack.

Where the next $250 million goes

Krafton isn't stopping at gaming. The company now wants to pour another $250 million into South Asia's growing AI and robotics sectors, on top of the $250 million already deployed across Indian startups. Sohn frames the strategy as a way to better connect Krafton's digital entertainment business — the same logic behind the studio acquisitions and the Bangalore expansion.

For India's gaming and AI ecosystem, the practical takeaway is straightforward: one of the world's biggest publishers has committed half a billion dollars in total exposure to the region, and it's shopping. The next announcement — a named studio deal or a fresh investment round — will show whether Krafton's hunt for a PUBG successor is close to landing.