South Korean gaming major Krafton to launch 3 to 5 new titles in 2026

BGMI-maker Krafton plans to launch 3-5 new games in 2026 as it diversifies beyond battle royale and scales Indian IPs like Real Cricket globally

South Korean gaming major Krafton, the developer of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), is planning to launch three to five new titles in 2026 as it looks to expand beyond its flagship multiplayer battle royale game, which has over 240 million users in India.

 

Some of the games slated for launch have been under internal development for the past year, said Anuj Sahani, head of KIGI (Krafton India Gaming Incubator) and associate director, publishing, Krafton India.

 

“We’ll be launching a lot more games in 2026-27. Probably three to five games will come out this year. We want to give Indian users the experience of different genres and styles of games, and then see how that works for the Indian audience,” Sahani told Business Standard.

 

The rollout will involve a mix of internally developed titles and third-party publishing.

 

The expansion plans come at a time when Krafton has acquired a controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile, the studio behind the sports simulation franchise Real Cricket.

 

Apart from BGMI, Krafton India currently publishes titles such as CookieRun India, Garuda Saga, Road to Valor: Empires, Bullet Echo India, and Archery King: PvP Battle.

 

Sahani said the company’s focus in 2026 would be on scaling the Real Cricket intellectual property. Krafton India acquired a controlling stake in Nautilus for ₹118 crore last year.

 

“From the past six months, we were working with Nautilus to build a certain technical framework in the game so that we can grow the game,” he said.

 

The company plans to expand the game’s presence in overseas markets where cricket is a popular sport.

 

Earlier, Krafton India chief executive Sean (Hyunil) Sohn had said launching new titles alongside BGMI was a strategic priority for the company.

 

Game incubator

KIGI has supported 10 studios across the country since 2023 with financial assistance of up to $150,000 each.

 

The third cohort of the incubator programme is scheduled to begin in April, with Krafton planning to incubate between six and 10 teams. Many games from the first two cohorts are being soft-launched and are expected to go live later this year.

 

The upcoming cohort will also receive additional budgets for performance marketing, along with enhanced technical support, including codebase reviews.

 

“From the third cohort, we'll also start with the code reviews. We will review the codebase and make sure that the code is expandable,” Sahani added.

 

Cumulatively, Krafton has deployed around $1.5 million from its balance sheet to support early-stage studios through the incubator programme. The company does not take upfront equity in the studios it supports.

 

“Only once the team starts generating certain revenue, then they can give back the money to us, or if Krafton does an investment, we can discount the amount,” Sahani explained, adding that any impact from firms not generating revenue is absorbed.

 

Last year, Krafton launched an India-focused Asian fund in partnership with Korean technology firm Naver and Mirae Asset, as it targets investments worth ₹6,000 crore in leading technology companies. The fund, called the Unicorn Growth Investment Fund, is designed as a large-scale growth fund, the company said.