BGMI Developer KRAFTON Secures Majority Stake in Nautilus Mobile

KRAFTON, the company behind BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI), has bought a controlling stake in Pune-based game studio Nautilus Mobile for Rs 118 crore ($13.7 million).

This marks KRAFTON's first full-control transaction in India.

Nautilus Mobile is best known for the popular mobile cricket game Real Cricket. JetSynthesys fully acquired the studio in 2020, with KRAFTON investing Rs 40.5 crore in 2022.

With this acquisition, KRAFTON hopes to boost Indian game development and increase its presence in sports gaming.

JetSynthesys will remain a minority investor and continue to collaborate with Nautilus, particularly in Esports. KRAFTON India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn stated that this agreement will help India become a global gaming hub. Anuj Mankar, CEO of Nautilus Mobile, stated that the partnership will help Real Cricket expand internationally.

Since 2021, KRAFTON has contributed over $200 million to Indian startups and is still supporting regional game developers. This action strengthens KRAFTON's place in the Indian gaming industry, which is seeing an increase in interest in both cricket and gaming.

"In the short term, we'll focus on Real Cricket and related titles," Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO, Krafton India. "New IPs are a long-term strategy that will evolve over 2-3 years."

Global expansion is also in the cards. Though India remains the core market, Krafton plans to expand Real Cricket's international footprint by leveraging its global publishing teams in Korea, the United States, and Europe.

"We just closed the deal, but global publishing is clearly one of our top priorities. To reach a larger audience, we'll consider performance marketing and monetization models," he added.

Krafton has backed more than a half-dozen Indian gaming and tech startups in recent years, but this is the first time it has taken full control of the IP and development.

"We could have built our own studio in Bengaluru, but this gives us a jump start. With Nautilus, we can now create genuine 'Make-in-India' games under the Krafton umbrella," he said.

While marketing and branding strategies are still being developed, both companies are confident that the partnership will allow them to push creative boundaries, expand esports efforts, and create new India-first titles in the coming years.