'600 Million Gamers' Draw Attention to the Indian Market... Krafton Moves to Secure Lead

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The domestic gaming industry's attention is focusing on India. As Korean game companies gradually enter India, one of the world's leading gaming markets with over 600 million gamers, Krafton is taking the lead in securing market share.

According to mobile data analysis platform Mobile Index on the 22nd, Krafton's "Battlegrounds Mobile" ranked 2nd and 1st in revenue on India's Google Play and App Store markets, respectively.

Launched in July last year, Battlegrounds Mobile India surpassed 50 million cumulative downloads within 44 days of release and has consistently held the top two positions on both app markets since its launch.

Krafton is accelerating its efforts to capture the Indian market through various investments.

According to the "India Online Game Market Trends" report released by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in July last year, the number of gamers in India was estimated to be over 622 million. Additionally, the Indian online gaming industry's market size is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 40% to approximately $2.8 billion this year, making it a very important market.

In response, Krafton made investments this year in Indian game developer Nautilus Mobile and India's largest audio content platform, KukuFM.

Krafton's efforts to secure the Indian market have directly impacted its performance growth. Krafton recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue of 523 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year, a 13.5% increase, and operating profit rose 37.3% year-on-year to 311.9 billion KRW.

This performance was influenced by the sharp increase in profitability of Battlegrounds Mobile launched in India.

During the first-quarter earnings announcement, Krafton's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Donggeun Bae said, "Especially this quarter, mobile games showed outstanding performance in India," adding, "The number of paying users and profitability indicators are rapidly increasing with products tailored for local users."

He also added, "In April, Battlegrounds Mobile India's revenue reached an all-time high."

Krafton analyzed that localization strategies targeting Indian users, such as the "Quick Voice Card Item" featuring voices of local influencers, have been effective.

CFO Bae said, "Krafton is now contributing to the development of local games and esports in India not just as a simple game operator but as a national brand and industry leader," and added, "We expect more than double the revenue in the Indian market this year."

Meanwhile, domestic game companies have begun laying the groundwork for entering the Indian market. NCSoft signed a contract in October last year to invest 12 billion KRW in Paramark KB No.1 Private Equity Partnership with the goal of securing investment partners for growth-stage tech and platform companies in India. In November last year, it also invested $3 million in a fund managed by Indian venture capital (VC) Lumikai to secure investment partners for Indian game startups.