Krafton doubles down on India with another $250M bet beyond gaming
News Source
β’Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:47:20 +0000
π° What Happened
Krafton, the South Korean gaming company behind PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India, plans to invest another $250 million in India over three to four years. It wants to move beyond gaming into AI, robotics, and deep tech. The new pledge takes Krafton's planned investment in India past $500 million.
Krafton has already invested over $250 million in India since 2021. The new money is separate from a $670 million India-focused growth fund it set up with Naver and Mirae Asset in December 2025, to which Krafton planned to add about $137 million at the first close.
π The Backstory
India is a key market for Krafton because it is the world's most populous country, with more than a billion internet subscribers and over 700 million smartphone users. Krafton first built its India business around gaming, led by BGMI, a local version of PUBG that has passed 260 million downloads.
Krafton's run in India has not always been smooth. The Indian government banned PUBG Mobile in 2020 along with hundreds of Chinese-linked apps, as tensions grew between New Delhi and Beijing. Krafton stepped in and launched BGMI in 2021, dropping Tencent Games from the project. It has since used startup investments to widen its business beyond games.
π― Why It Matters
Big bets on India mean new jobs, more local tech, and cheaper AI tools for the world's largest internet market. What happens there shapes the apps and services everyone else gets next, from games to robots.
Krafton, the South Korean gaming company behind PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India, plans to invest another $250 million in India over three to four years. It wants to move beyond gaming into AI, robotics, and deep tech. The new pledge takes Krafton's planned investment in India past $500 million.
Krafton has already invested over $250 million in India since 2021. The new money is separate from a $670 million India-focused growth fund it set up with Naver and Mirae Asset in December 2025, to which Krafton planned to add about $137 million at the first close.
India is a key market for Krafton because it is the world's most populous country, with more than a billion internet subscribers and over 700 million smartphone users. Krafton first built its India business around gaming, led by BGMI, a local version of PUBG that has passed 260 million downloads.
Krafton's run in India has not always been smooth. The Indian government banned PUBG Mobile in 2020 along with hundreds of Chinese-linked apps, as tensions grew between New Delhi and Beijing. Krafton stepped in and launched BGMI in 2021, dropping Tencent Games from the project. It has since used startup investments to widen its business beyond games.
Big bets on India mean new jobs, more local tech, and cheaper AI tools for the world's largest internet market. What happens there shapes the apps and services everyone else gets next, from games to robots.