India gaming market to be more sizable, impactful: KRAFTON India CEO

South Korean gaming giant Krafton, the name behind popular esports title Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)—is actively looking to invest and acquire in India, which is among its top five markets globally and where mobile-first gaming culture, rapid smartphone adoption, and a young, tech-savvy population are driving prospects of steady growth in online gaming.

KRAFTON India CEO, Sean Hyunil Sohn sees the gaming industry here becoming much more sizable and impactful, and asserts the company would not be tied down to fixed investment limits for this "promising" market. KRAFTON has already invested $200 million in the country.

Reflecting on India's regulatory landscape and past challenges faced by KRAFTON, he highlighted the company's positive outlook on regulations.

Sean said India's approach to norms is supported by defined processes, constructive feedback, and a calibrated approach before actual implementation of guidelines.

"We want to double down on gaming and its addressable area because we believe now it is time for the gaming industry to become much more sizable and impactful. And we see a much bigger potential for the next 2-3 years," he told PTI.

Although the company does not disclose country-specific revenue separately, India -- in terms of revenue and user base—is among the top-five countries for KRAFTON, he said.

Further, steady growth projections for the Indian economy and increasing adoption of smartphones are driving a positive outlook for the company.

Despite the growing popularity of gaming and esports, the Indian market is still relatively small when compared globally.

"In terms of size or in terms of development stage, as an industry, I think it is still early or relatively small compared to the global gaming markets. But I think India has a very unique position because India is a mobile gaming native country. So other countries that are in more mature stages, have gone through (the path of) consoles, PCs, and mobiles now. But in India, gamers started with playing games from mobile, that is a very unique difference," he said, adding that the potential of the industry is "very promising".

The demographics metrics, too, plays out in favour of the industry.

India has a relatively large, dynamic, younger population, compared to some of the mature gaming markets.

"And then we have one of the most popular game in the country, which is still steadily growing in terms of user base, and in terms of revenue. So I think India market has been very attractive for us to build our presence and invest more," he said.

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The company has been investing in gaming, digital entertainment, and other tech sectors in the country.

"KRAFTON has had a great financial year in 2024. So I think we have more capacity to invest in India, which is one of top performing markets for the company. We will not stop investing... say at $200-300 million. We have invested $200 million so far, but I think we are still actively looking at opportunities to invest and maybe acquire, if there is an attractive company to acquire and work with. We are very active," he said.

KRAFTON, despite its position as a global game publisher, still has the mindset of game developers at its core, according to the company.

"Of course, we are now global game publishers so we have a wide publishing capacity around the globe. We want to partner with someone who is really passionate about game development and working for the gaming industry. That is the number one criteria if we want to acquire someone in the gaming industry," he said, adding that those making the cut would also need to be "positive and passionate" about the potential of the Indian gaming industry.

He said India has the strength and the capacity to create games for the global markets.

"I think there is a lot of potential for talent which can tap into the industry, but most people are not aware that gaming is a very serious career opportunity. We can do a lot of things as an industry player... we need support from the government and education institutions to put the best talent out for the younger generation to come to the gaming industry and make a long-term bet on the industry," he said.