Krafton invests in 10 overseas game startups in 2024

Krafton Inc. invested in 10 overseas game developers in 2024 in search of the next big franchise intellectual property (IP) following its mega-hit title “PUBG: Battlegrounds.”

According to gaming industry sources on Monday, Krafton became a major shareholder in US-based Varacious Games with an investment of 4.6 billion won ($3.2 million) in the fourth quarter of last year.

The studio is best known for Potionomics, which ranked as the second-highest-grossing game on Steam, the world’s top PC gaming platform.

Krafton also acquired a 29.62% stake in Poland’s Antistatic Studios, investing 4.7 billion won. The studio was founded by the developers behind the hit games “Cyberpunk 2077” and “BioShock.”

The companies Krafton invested in in 2024 include Red Rover Interactive, Eschatology Entertainment, Ruckus Games, EF Games, Piccolo Studio, Republic of Games, Wolf Haus Games and Day 4 Night Studios.

Krafton invested between 2 billion and 12 billion won in each game developer, securing stakes of 15% to 29%. Most of these startups were founded by veteran developers with track records in hit game production.

Its aggressive investments in overseas game developers contrast with other Korean game publishers, most of which prefer to develop in-house titles and release one or two games annually.
 
“Krafton’s strong financial results has enabled it to invest, and PUBG’s global success has likely facilitated discussions with overseas studios,” said a gaming company official.

In 2024, Krafton posted record-high revenue of 2.71 trillion won and an operating profit of 1.18 trillion won. More than 80% of its revenue still comes from PUBG-related titles.

It has been hunting for its next big titles after its new release — The Callisto Protocol — failed to become a commercial success.
 
Over the next five years, Krafton plans to invest up to 1.5 trillion won in acquiring and developing new game franchises.

“We will secure the next big franchise IP after PUBG and enhance corporate value through phased growth,” company CEO Kim Changhan said during a meeting with employees in January.

Write to Ju-Wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.