Krafton, the developers behind hit battle-royale title BattleGrounds Mobile India – a spin-off of the even more successful PUBG – has launched its new game incubator for the Indian market afer previously annoucing the scheme back in August.
The Krafton Gaming Incubator India will offer guidance, access to resources and financial support from $50k to a whopping $150k for individual studios as part of a $150m investment into the Indian market. Despite problems brining PUBG Mobile to market and creating BGMI as its replacement – subsequently itself banned over the company’s links to Chinese corporation Tencent before being reinstated earlier this year – Krafton seems to not have softened on their commitment to the country.
CEO of Krafton India, Sean Hyunil Sohn, commented, “Given the huge demand for gaming content [in India], the supply side has yet to mature. There are many great startups and small- to medium-sized and large-size game developers, but I think in the ecosystem, there is a lack of diversity.”
Big in India
Krafton’s commitment to the Indian market despite their difficulties is indicative of the potential this growing audience and gaming ecosystem has to offer. But even with a major hurdle passed in the form of reinstating their biggest Indian title, it’s far from an easy ride for Krafton from here. With home-grown competitors such as SuperGaming battle royale Indus seeing growing interest, Krafton has no time to lose to reestablish its dominance.
Despite these issues Krafton doesn’t seem to have shied away from going all in on the Indian market, perhaps hoping to showcase this commitment and evade further regulatory crackdowns in the event of another political freeze between India and China. The level of investment is certainly impressive and will prove be a major boon to the growing Indian gaming industry, helping form partnerships with local studios at a grassroots level that could benefit Krafton in future.
