KRAFTON posts $1.4B sales in 2023; BGMI, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS key drivers of growth
KRAFTON expressed robust growth prospects for its business and game portfolio in the Indian market.
South Korean game maker has posted $1.4 billion (1,910.6 billion South Korean won) in sales in 2023, clocking a 3.1% year-on-year growth. The company made a net profit of $446 million (594.1 billion won), at an 18.8% year-on-year growth.
According to the company, after resuming services last year, its mobile game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) has quickly recovered both traffic and revenue, recording the largest monthly sales in December. BGMI now occupies a dominant position in the Indian esports market, KRAFTON told investors in a presentation.
BGMI and PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS were major drivers for sales in 2023, the company said in a statement. KRAFTON also expressed robust growth prospects for PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, and its business and game portfolio in the Indian market.
BGMI returned to India in May last year after it was banned in 2022 by the government for security reasons. PUBG Mobile was banned in 2020 amid a wider crackdown on more than 100 mobile apps that had connections with China.
In an interview with YourStory, Anuj Sahani, the head of KRAFTON's incubator programme and the lead for the company's latest game, Garuda Saga, said the company has an India-first approach and plans to launch more game titles specifically for India.
KRAFTON will be franchising PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS IP, expanding independent publishing in the Indian market, and increasing R&D investments in artificial intelligence and deep learning. The game maker's first title for India—Garuda Saga—is currently available for pre-registration.
In the pipeline for 2024 are Dark and Darker Mobile, inZOI, Dinkum Mobile, Project Black Budget, and Subnautica 2.
Edited by Swetha Kannan