Krafton India launches gaming incubator to boost local startups; upto Rs 1.24 crore on offer

Krafton India has unveiled a gaming incubator in India, aiming to foster the local gaming scene and support aspiring talents entering the rapidly expanding gaming industry. Dubbed the Krafton India Gaming Incubator (KIGI), this initiative intends to assist six to ten teams annually, with program durations ranging from six months to a year. Selected participants will receive guidance, mentorship, access to Krafton’s resources, and financial backing, typically ranging from $50,000 (Rs 41.26 lakh) to $150,000 (Rs 1.24 crore), depending on their requirements.

Krafton India, renowned for relaunching the popular mobile title BGMI, has expressed its interest in identifying early-stage Indian startups, those in the conceptualisation phase, student teams, and independent developers for KIGI. These participants will benefit from mentoring by gaming industry experts from South Korea and India, in addition to gaining access to Krafton's internal resources, including market research and data, to aid in the development of their products for the Indian and global markets.

Unlike other gaming companies' incubation programs, which are often tied to specific gaming engines or platforms, Krafton's program is platform-agnostic. This means that incubating teams can develop games using technologies of their choice and for various platforms, including PC and consoles, rather than being restricted to mobile, which currently dominates the Indian gaming market.

However, the program will not consider developers or startups working on real-money gaming (RMG) or gambling content, as recent government guidelines and state-level restrictions have impacted such ventures in India. After completing the incubation, participants have the opportunity to secure capital from institutional investors, and Krafton can also fund them through its allocated investments for the Indian market.

Krafton has previously invested approximately $50 million in the Indian gaming sector, including companies like Nodwin Gaming, Loco Interactive, Nautilus Mobile (developer of the Real Cricket game franchise), and Lila Games, as well as the gaming-focused VC fund Lumikai Fund. The funding for the incubator, however, will be separate from these previous commitments.

Krafton India's expansion coincides with the launch of its own mobile titles, New State Mobile and Road to Valor: Empires, in India. Despite these efforts, BGMI remains the company's flagship title in the country.

Market intelligence firm Niko Partners projects a 21.2% year-on-year growth in India's video game revenue across all platforms, reaching $868 million in 2023. India primarily serves as a mobile gaming market, with around 97% of gamers playing on smartphones or tablets. The country is also witnessing a significant rise in the number of gamers, with an estimated 12.1% year-on-year increase to 444 million gamers in 2023, projected to expand further to 641.2 million by 2027.

Key experts, including Dave Curd, creative director of PUBG Studios, and Harns Kim, game producer at Krafton, will provide mentorship and guidance to the individuals and teams participating in Krafton's incubator. The program will run virtually and include seminars and community events to help participants build networks while working on their game development projects.

Startup market tracker Tracxn reported that equity funding in Indian gaming startups increased by nearly 70% to $647.9 million in 2022, up from $381.8 million in 2020. In 2023, despite an overall market slowdown, Indian gaming startups have already raised $94.3 million to date.

Krafton is now accepting entries for the incubator program through its website.

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