BGMI developer Krafton set to launch more games, further invest in India

South Korean video game developer Krafton, the publisher behind popular Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) game, is all set to launch more games in the coming year in India, while looking for the right strategic synergy to further invest in the country. Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India, said that BGMI will also have more announcements coming up for India before the Diwali festival. “We have a few games in our publishing pipeline. I think there could be one or two games we could even launch within this year,” Sohn added during a media interaction here.

The company's focus has been on developing mobile gaming titles tailored to the Indian market. Since March 2021, the company has invested $140 million across 11 startups including NODWIN Gaming, Loco, Pratilipi, Kuku FM, One Impression and more. The company recently announced their commitment to invest an additional $150 million over the next 2-3 years.

“BGMI is not just a game, it is also a cultural and social experience. Krafton is not looking at building views; rather, we are focused on building a community basis fan-first research,” according to Sohn. The company is also hosting a friendly India-Korea invitational match wherein BGMI will be played by 8 winning teams from BGIS and 8 Esports teams from South Korea.

Krafton will also release a documentary chronicling the story and development of the ‘Indian Faction in Road To Valor: Empires’. The move came two years after the Indian government banned Krafton's marquee offering PUBG in the country over nationals security concerns. BGMI was the Indian version of PUBG Mobile, exclusively for players in the country developed and published by Krafton.

The Indian government later ordered Google and Apple to block the BGMI gaming app from their respective online stores under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. On May 30 this year, the South Korean video game developer said the video game BGMI is now available for play for all users in India on both Android and iOS. The government allowed the return of the game on a three-month trial approval, after the company complied with issues of server locations and data security in the country.