Krafton invests $5.4 million in Indian game studio, Nautilus Mobile

South Korean gaming company, Krafton – the owner of popular games such as PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) or its Indian version dubbed BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India) – has invested in JetSynthesys-owned game development studio, Nautilus Mobile.

Underpinning its first ever investment in an Indian game development studio, Krafton has pledged $5.4 million to Nautilus Mobile, which was earlier taken over by digital entertainment and tech firm JetSynthesys in 2020.

Sean Hyunil Sohn, Head of Krafton India, mentioned that the company is committed to strengthen the video game ecosystem in India and this investment builds upon the end goal of Krafton.

In last one year, Krafton inked several investment deals with startups like the game streaming platform Loco, Indian language storytelling service Pratilipi, esports company Nodwin Gaming, and audio romance and friend discovery platform FRND.

Nautilus Mobile, owner of Real Cricket, a simulation-based cricket gaming franchise, is planning to use the fresh capital across three crucial areas starting with the potential of Real Cricket to emerge as the first Indian esports game to be exported worldwide.

Rajan Navani, CEO of JetSynthesys and Chairman of Nautilus, highlighted that not one esports game has made it outside an Indian studio till date.

Meanwhile, the company executed an esports tournament between India & U.S., hinting a promising future in these markets.

Next, Nautilus will use the investment to boost expansion in global markets considering Real Cricket gaming experiences in India contribute to 85% whereas the rest comes from markets like UK, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to the studio’s aim to solidify market presence across Europe, Middle East and UK, it is also eyeing the three major markets including Korea, Japan and the U.S.

As of now, Real Cricket supports a monthly active user (MAU) engagement of one crore and is anticipating 40%-50% growth in monetization and user base this year.

Source Credit: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/battlegrounds-mobile-india-maker-krafton-invests-5-4-million-in-nautilus-mobile-8031601.html