Krafton India picks six studios for its second incubation programme

Krafton India, the developer and publisher of Battlegrounds Mobile India (previously known as PUBG Mobile India), has picked six game studios from across the country for its second edition of incubation programme.

 

The studios were picked out of around 350 applications. The programme, Krafton India Gaming Incubator (KIGI), will offer up to $150,000 in grants to each game studio while providing guidance across categories such as game design, product monetisation, performance marketing, art and visuals, among others.

 

The selected studios include Kleanup Games, Advaita Interactive, Singular Scheme, Smash Head Studio, Unwind Games, and Ginger Games across cities such as Madurai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi respectively.

 

Four game companies were part of KIGI’s inaugural batch in 2024. They have soft-launched their titles on platforms like Play Store and are gearing up for the release.

 

“KIGI is not a very strict guidelines-based programme, but instead based on a team’s requirements. When we take teams onboard, we sit down with them and identify any gaps. For each team, we pick mentors and align the programme that is helpful to them,” Anuj Sahani, head of Krafton India Incubator Program and India Publishing Advisor told Business Standard.

 

KIGI has partnered with technology service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), AccelByte, AppMagic, and GameRefinery to support teams in its second cohort.

 

“After the inaugural cohort, we identified that a lot of teams need additional technical support in terms of implementing multiplayer and social features of the game. We have strategic partners which will help developers understand what competitors are doing, which features they are developing, and what they are monetising on,” he explained.

 

He added that the programme would continue to look for more partners to support its participant teams. It would also feature workshops based on the team’s requirements.

 

“We mentor on financial aspects such as raising funds, talking to investors, creating pitch decks, connecting with (game) publishers. Our corporate investment team also provides support,” he said.

 

The company may also consider publishing for cohort participants and investing in these studios, even as participants remain open to securing external capital.

 

“We also might consider publishing and investments in the teams itself. We obviously have a corporate investment team. We will utilise that facility for our KIGI teams also,” Sahani added.

 

While acquiring publishing rights or taking an equity stake in cohort studios will depend on future discussions, full studio acquisitions may be too early for Krafton India, as most cohort participants are still early-stage companies.

 

In India, Krafton’s Battlegrounds Mobile India has over 200 million downloads. It has invested $170 million in Indian startups across categories like interactive entertainment, gaming, e-sports, and technology.