BGMI-Maker Krafton Optimistic On Demand For Game Developers In India Despite 'Lack In Depth Of Talent Pool'

Despite bans, Battlegrounds Mobile India has seen over 15 crore downloads to date. Here’s how Krafton managed to keep BGMI relevant among gamers.

Krafton, the South Korea-based gaming giant, has been charting tricky waters ever since the launch of its popular mobile battle royale, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). For starters, the game was banned in July last year by the Modi government over security concerns. After nearly a year-long suspension, the game returned to Google Play and Apple’s App Store in May on a Centre-enforced “three-month trial period.” It appears that the test period is now over and the game has amassed over 15 crore downloads to date. 

However, to say that Krafton’s India gaming story is limited to just BGMI would be an understatement. Its India-focussed wing has launched a total of four mobile multiplayer games — BGMI, New State Mobile, Road To Valor: Empires, and Defense Derby — with at least one new title coming before the year is out. 

Apart from that, Krafton has already invested $140 million in homegrown startups across verticals and has pledged to invest $150 million over the next few years. 

Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn remains optimistic about the company’s future in the country, where gaming (or particularly mobile gaming) has only started taking off. Sohn told ABP Live, “India has an issue of depth in terms of talent pool in the gaming industry, especially in game development. The demand, however, is enormous.” Through its operation, Krafton plans to solve the issue of demand and supply. 

Comeback Kid

Before we talk about BGMI’s return to the country, we should hark back to Player Unknown’s Battle Ground Mobile, or PUBG Mobile, developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, a division of China-based Tencent Games. Along with Tencent, Krafton and VNG Games were in charge of publishing the game for different regions.

In September 2020, the Indian government banned PUBG Mobile along with 117 other China-linked apps following a clash between the Indian and Chinese armies in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.

Around 10 months later, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was launched by Krafton. The game was marked by its de-violenced approach to typical action shooters, introducing playtime limits and even ‘green’ blood instead of red (the blood element was removed from the game entirely later on). Krafton also introduced several India-focussed elements, such as Diwali-special contests and themes as well as collaboration with homegrown streamers, esports athletes, and celebs. 

In July 2022, BGMI was once again banned by the Centre over security concerns, as it was found to communicate with Chinese servers, and also due to reports of violence and crime among a handful of gamers that reportedly stemmed from playing BGMI. 

During this hiatus, Krafton endeavoured to ensure that all concerns were met and the game returned with certain changes that encouraged responsible gaming. These included under-18 age restrictions (players must register with a parent or guardian and OTPs were made mandatory), time restrictions (under-18 players restricted to three hours of gameplay), and spending restrictions (a daily spending cap of Rs 7,000 was enforced for in-game buys). 

Apart from in-game changes, Krafton also launched a BGMI-focussed docu-series, dubbed “India Ki Heartbeat”, highlighting the life and experiences of BGMI players and streamers, from a hacker who reformed his ways to a physically challenged gamer who has lost his limbs but incredibly plays mobile games with his tongue. This series took the spotlight away from the game and championed gamers instead, keeping a certain buzz alive around BGMI, which eventually helped the game reach its old popularity upon its return this year. 

Krafton is no stranger to well-nuanced ad campaigns. Its “Game Responsibly” campaign bagged bronze at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The campaign highlighted the ills of gaming without breaks while talking about safeguards introduced in BGMI. 

BGMI only recently came out of a three-month trial period, where it worked closely with the Government to ensure all requirements and quotas are met as the game opens up to the public once again. 

While remaining tight-lipped on details of the interactions with the Centre, Sohn said, “As a responsible company, we can only continue working as we are supposed to. We don’t expect any dramatic change in terms of any regulatory issue or partnership with other companies.”

Taking A Gamer-First Approach

The company relies heavily on its gamers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) to keep the buzz going. “We have 282 KOLs in India, who are actively part of the BGMI network. Apart from Garena in Brazil, no one else has such numbers,” said Srinjoy Das, Associate Director of Marketing, Krafton India. “We spend a lot of time communicating with our KOLs,” he added. This helps Krafton understand what a gamer wants. 

Targeting esports as well, Krafton wishes to nurture talents at the grassroots level. BGIS (Battlegrounds Mobile India Series) is not just one of the biggest amateur esports tourneys in Southeast Asia but also grabs major airtime thanks to its streaming partnership with JioCinema. BGIS has a total prize pool of Rs 2 crore, with the winning time standing a chance to bag Rs 75 lakh. 

Later this year, Krafton will host a friendly India-South Korea invitation match where eight BGIS teams will face off against eight Korean teams. “This will help us understand where we stand at a global level before we plan to further our esports interests while focussing on the amateur talent within the country,” said Krafton India’s esports head Karan Pathak. 

Securing A Gamer-Focussed Future

“Right now in India, gaming is where e-commerce was back in 2007, or OTTs were in 2014,” said Das. “I believe it’s only the start of a 40- to 50-year cycle, and in terms of mobile gaming, we are four to five years into it.” 

Das added that the future of gaming truly lies in gaming and esports-related livestreams and content. If we look at some quick numbers, streamers such as Jonathan "Jonah" Amaral or Naman "Mortal" Mathur have garnered up to 2.5 million views on their BGMI livestreams on YouTube. 

 “This makes us superbly optimistic. The future superstars need not be actors or cricketers but can be esports athletes as well. This is the sign of a country adapting to digital needs very rapidly,” said Das. “Gaming has gone from being a niche to a counterculture to a culture now.”

Sohn said that it was the mass-scale adoption of 4G that led to the development of a gaming ecosystem in India. “In its true self, India has six to seven years of gaming history so far,” he added.

At this nascent stage, Sohn believes that the country suffers from a lack of depth in the talent pool when it comes to game development. However, there is a massive demand, “and it’s only growing,” Sohn said. 

“This is the main reason why we are very optimistic,” the Krafton India CEO said. “We want to solve the supply issues. Krafton is a global company, and we are publishing locally as well. We believe that we need to find a way to increase supply to meet the demand. It’s a grand opportunity to be captured.” Sohn concluded by saying that eventually, the gaming industry would need to exhibit a group effort to overcome its challenges.

Since March 2021, Krafton has channelled a significant sum of $140 million into 11 distinct startups, among them Nodwin Gaming, Loco, Pratilipi, Kuku FM, One Impression, and several others. Moreover, Krafton recently reaffirmed its commitment to inject an additional $150 million into the startup ecosystem within the forthcoming two to three years.

Krafton's investment strategy in India revolves around identifying opportunities with strong strategic alignment, further reinforcing its presence and commitment in the region.