Krafton Was Allegedly Planning to Invest Another $100 Million in India Before BGMI Ban
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Manish Singh from news outlet TechCrunch revealed that Krafton had estimated its investment in India would reach $140 million USD by next month. The company was also open to investing another $100 million in India this year. It was reportedly engaging in three startups but with the ban of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), there is now a cloud of uncertainty on Krafton’s future in India and its willingness to invest in the country.
Krafton has already invested millions in the Indian esports ecosystem
Mobile esports is massive in India and with titles like Wild Rift, Mobile Legends, and Free Fire (Free Fire MAX is still available) not being available in India, BGMI became the talk of the town. Krafton has invested heavily into the Indian esports ecosystem with Indian esports tournament organizer, NODWIN Gaming, having raised INR 164 Crores ($22.4 Million USD) from the company last year. Krafton also invested in livestreaming platform Loco.
The company had invested close to $86 million USD in the Indian media and entertainment industry. Anuj Tandon, head (India and MENA regions) of corporate development at KRAFTON had revealed that Krafton is “very patient with capital, thinking from a mid to long-term perspective on growth and back founders in a long term perspective.”
The move by the Indian government comes as a shock as BGMI reportedly complies with all security and privacy guidelines laid out by the Indian government. The government invoked a section of the IT law to impose the ban to block access to all content in BGMI. A Krafton spokesperson has told Reuters that the developer is currently talking to relevant authorities regarding the suspension of the game.
This is not the first time Krafton has faced issues in India. PUBG Mobile suffered the same fate with the game being banned in 2020. Krafton has also shut down access to BGMI on the App Store, Play Store, and on its website. Microtransactions have also been restricted for players who had already downloaded the game. Only time will tell if Krafton is able to work things out with the Indian government or if the game’s future in the country is doomed.
