PUBG developer Krafton is eyeing major expansion in India, seeking acquisitions as growth slows in China and the US, and plans to invest at least $50M annually
Song Jung-a / Financial Times :
Context & Ripple Effects
Krafton had already signaled a broader studio-investment push for 2025, and it made its first Indian acquisition through a majority stake in Pune-based Nautilus Mobile. The new annual commitment turns that initial foothold into a more explicit market-expansion strategy.
The move matters because Krafton is redirecting capital toward India while growth slows in its established China and US markets, using acquisitions alongside internal investment rather than relying on a single geography.
First-order effects
- Krafton will allocate at least $50 million each year toward India and seek acquisitions, expanding the pool of local game studios that could become partners or targets.
- Its earlier majority investment in Pune-based Nautilus Mobile becomes a precedent for further India-focused dealmaking rather than a one-off entry.
Second-order effects
- Indian game studios with proven development capabilities may gain a better-funded strategic buyer, while Krafton can build local production capacity and market knowledge through acquired teams.
- The India commitment sits alongside Krafton’s planned 2025 investments across more than a dozen studios, concentrating more of that investment program in a market intended to offset slower growth elsewhere.
Third-order effects
- If other global publishers follow this approach, India could shift from being chiefly a distribution market to a more contested base for game-studio ownership and development investment.
- The strategy reflects a broader portfolio response to uneven regional growth: publishers may increasingly use local acquisitions to diversify exposure, though its effectiveness depends on whether acquired studios can produce durable hits.
The trend: Global game publishers are using local studio acquisitions and targeted capital commitments to diversify beyond slower-growth core markets.