[2022 Hot IT Companies⑨] Krafton, Soaring as a Global Game Company Beyond India to the Arab Region...

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] "I believe games will become the most powerful media. We will create a world that infinitely connects entertainment moments experienced by fans worldwide." This is the New Year's aspiration revealed by Kim Chang-han, CEO of Krafton. Having established a monumental $800 million export record last year, Krafton is set to aggressively target overseas markets again this year with bold investments. The company plans to expand its business not only in existing markets like India and North America but also into new markets such as the Middle East and Africa, solidifying its position as a truly global game company.

◆ Beyond India to the Arab Market = According to the gaming industry on the 4th, Krafton made a $6 million (approximately 7.1 billion KRW) investment last month in Middle Eastern mobile game publisher Tamatem Games. Founded in 2013, Tamatem Games is one of the top three mobile game publishers in the Middle East. With the goal of delighting users in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa, Arabic-speaking) market, it offers a variety of Arabic mobile games.

This investment is interpreted as laying the foundation for growth in the Arabic-speaking market, which connects the high-potential Middle East and Africa following India. Tamatem Games has published over 50 mobile games to date, achieving more than 100 million downloads and securing 1 million monthly active users (MAU).

A Krafton representative said, "With the goal of providing the best experience to MENA users, we have been closely collaborating with Tamatem Games on social media, streamers, marketing, and other tasks from the preparation for the launch of 'Battlegrounds: New State' to the present."

Krafton is also expanding its influence in existing markets such as India and North America. Early last month, Krafton invested $5 million (approximately 590 million KRW) in the Indian social platform FRND. FRND is an Indian-language-based social platform developed with the goal of acquiring 1 billion users in India. It uniquely combines gaming and dating, allowing men and women connected one-on-one via voice chat to play casual and board games together and get to know each other. Currently, the service is offered in 10 different Indian languages.

In November last year, Krafton acquired the U.S. game console developer Unknown Worlds for 585.8 billion KRW. Established in 2001, Unknown Worlds specializes in PC and console game development. Its representative works include the PC FPS game series 'Natural Selection' and the console action-adventure game series 'Subnautica.' Krafton evaluated that the acquisition raised expectations for diversifying its future portfolio due to Unknown Worlds' specialization in console game development.

◆ Expanding Portfolio with Various Genres = Expectations are also high for new releases this year. Early last month, Krafton launched the top-down shooting PC game 'Thunder Tier One' on the global game distribution platform Steam.

Thunder Tier One is set in a scenario where the gamer becomes a first-class agent leading a special operations unit. Its main features are detail and realism. The weapons in Thunder Tier One each have unique characteristics such as firing rate, bullet velocity, effective range, and accuracy.

Subsidiary Striking Distance is developing the PC survival horror game 'The Callisto Protocol.' This game is a survival horror set on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter, in the year 2320, based on the PUBG IP. Additionally, new games are being prepared including 'Project Cowboy,' an open-world survival genre, and a new game by Bluehole based on the fantasy novel 'The Bird That Drinks Tears' by author Lee Young-do. Unknown Worlds, recently acquired, is also developing two new games targeted for release this year and in 2024.

CEO Kim said, "Together with our overseas game development studios under Krafton, we will introduce new game genres that we have never attempted before. We plan to further develop and proactively utilize our world-class technology to enhance the value of our content."