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Krafton

GamingSeoul, South Korea

Krafton is a South Korean video game company founded in 2007 as Bluehole and renamed in 2018, best known for PUBG and its Indian localisation Battlegrounds Mobile India. It listed in Seoul in 2021. India is among its most important markets, where BGMI has passed 260 million downloads, and it has backed roughly 18 Indian companies across gaming, esports, streaming, audio and creator marketing, acquired the Pune studio Nautilus Mobile, and runs the KIGI Academy game development programme with IIT Madras. It has committed more than $500 million to India in total.

1StartupFox story
2007Founded
GamingSector
Sept 2026Latest coverage

Leadership

BGByung Gyu ChangFounder · Chairman

The Krafton journey

2007 · founded
Founded in Seoul by Byung Gyu Chang.
Sep 2020 · milestone
India bans PUBG Mobile alongside 117 other apps linked to China following border tensions. Krafton severs its Indian publishing relationship with Tencent and moves its India servers to Microsoft Azure. ↗
2021 · milestone
Relaunches the game in India as Battlegrounds Mobile India, which goes on to pass 260 million downloads. It is banned again in 2022 and permitted to return in 2023 on a three-month trial. ↗
Mar 2025 · acquisition
Acquires a controlling stake in Pune studio Nautilus Mobile, maker of the Real Cricket franchise, for $14 million. ↗
Sep 2026 · milestone
Commits a further $250 million to India over three to four years, extending into AI, robotics and deep tech, after chairman Byung Gyu Chang meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. ↗

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Latest on Krafton

Funding
Krafton Pledges Another $250M to India, Which Has Banned Its Flagship Game Twice
6 SEPT 2026 · 4 MIN READ

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Frequently Asked

What is Krafton?

Krafton is a South Korean video game company founded in 2007 as Bluehole and renamed in 2018, best known for PUBG and its Indian localisation Battlegrounds Mobile India. It listed in Seoul in 2021. India is among its most important markets, where BGMI has passed 260 million downloads, and it has backed roughly 18 Indian companies across gaming, esports, streaming, audio and creator marketing, acquired the Pune studio Nautilus Mobile, and runs the KIGI Academy game development programme with IIT Madras. It has committed more than $500 million to India in total.

Who founded Krafton?

Krafton is associated with Byung Gyu Chang.

What is the latest news on Krafton?

The most recent StartupFox coverage is “Krafton Pledges Another $250M to India, Which Has Banned Its Flagship Game Twice” (6 September 2026). All stories are listed on this page.