Battlegrounds Mobile India clocks 50 million downloads

Krafton appoints Sean Hyunil Sohn, head of investment unit, as India subsidiary’s CEO

(Courtesy of Krafton)
(Courtesy of Krafton)
Joo-Wan Kim 1
2021-08-18 11:33:25 kjwan@hankyung.com
Games

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) has clocked 50 million downloads on Google Play in about 1-1/2 months after the game’s launch, its developer Krafton Inc. said on Aug. 16.

Krafton on July 2 released the blockbuster title developed exclusively for the country with 1.4 billion population. Within a week of the launch, BGMI attracted 34 million cumulative users, up to 16 million players a day and 2.4 million simultaneous users, driving the online game box office from the beginning.

To allure more users, the South Korean game developer of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) opened Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2021, an esports tournament in July, with a total prize of 10 million Indian rupee ($134,472). More than 540,000 players flocked to the preliminary round.

Krafton is trying to expand online business in India, having invested $70 million in the local tech companies so far this year.

Earlier this month, Krafton appointed Sean Hyunil Sohn, head of the investment division, as a chief executive officer of PUBG India Pvt. Ltd. 

“The Indian gaming market is at the beginning of its development, so it has great potential for expansion, and the interest of users in games and entertainment is high, so we believe that to be a market of opportunities,” Sohn said in a statement on Aug. 6. “We plan to expand Krafton's IP (intellectual property) and gaming experience to more countries by targeting emerging markets from India to the Middle East and Africa.”

PUBG India, established in November 2020, has been in charge of direct sales of Battlegrounds Mobile.

India prohibited 118 Chinese smartphone applications including the game title, citing data privacy concerns. But industry sources said the South Asian country took the measure as a revenge amid a border dispute between the two nations. Battlegrounds Mobile was hit by the ban since Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings handled the game’s sales in the country, according to the sources.

Write to Joo-Wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
#Krafton #PUBG #BGMI #BattlegroundsMobileIndia

NCSoft to launch Lineage W, first game with priority on global users

NCSoft to launch Lineage W, first game with priority on global users

NCSoft has a number of games under the Lineage brand from the original Lineage to Lineage 2M. South Korea’s leading game developer NCSoft Corp. will be launching its latest massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Lineage W, earlier than scheduled.  According to the g

Krafton IPO draws lukewarm demand from retail investors

Krafton IPO draws lukewarm demand from retail investors

Krafton is known as the developer of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). Korea’s major game developer Krafton Inc’s much-anticipated IPO subscription has closed by only drawing a muted response from investors. The company also received a lukewarm response from institutional invest

Krafton mega IPO on horizon: Industry game-changer

Krafton mega IPO on horizon: Industry game-changer

Krafton Inc. is set to become the first South Korean decacorn startup, or a company valued at over $10 billion, to make a trading debut on the country’s main bourse, Kospi, with its valuation estimated to reach up to 29.7 trillion won ($26.5 billion).Touted as the hottest initial public

Smilegate becomes 5th game firm to join trillion won club

Smilegate becomes 5th game firm to join trillion won club

Lost Ark, a popular MMORPG game developed by Smilegate Smilegate Entertainment Inc. has become the fifth South Korean game company to join the trillion won club, as it posted a revenue of 1.73 trillion won ($1.5 billion) with an operating profit of 364.6 billion won in 2020, up by 14% and 26% f

Tencent increases appetite for Korean gaming startups

Tencent increases appetite for Korean gaming startups

Neople's Dungeon Fighter, distributed by Tencent in China Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings has been gobbling up South Korean gaming startups that have yet to launch their first products, a move seen aimed at securing their intellectual properties (IPs) and developers to cement its No.

(* comment hide *}