Krafton expands in India with $14M majority stake in Nautilus mobile

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Krafton, the South Korean gaming giant behind PUBG: Battlegrounds and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), has acquired a controlling stake in Indian gaming studio Nautilus Mobile for $14 million.

According to TechCrunch, Krafton confirmed that it has purchased over 75% of Nautilus Mobile in an all-cash deal. The Pune-based gaming studio is known for its Real Cricket franchise, which has gained popularity among cricket enthusiasts. Despite the acquisition, Nautilus will continue operating independently with its 45 employees remaining on its payroll. The deal is expected to close by the end of the month.

Founded in 2013, Nautilus Mobile has developed five titles under the Real Cricket franchise, including Real Cricket 24 and Real Cricket Premier League. Krafton aims to enhance Nautilus’s expertise in mobile cricket games, which are in high demand in India. In the short term, the company will refine existing titles, while in the long run, it will explore new gaming genres.

“Our development capability in Nautilus will help Krafton double down on its India gaming strategy,” said Nautilus CEO Anuj Mankar. “Together, we can probably build more games, more genres, both for the Indian market and global market going forward.”

India’s mobile gaming market is expanding rapidly, driven by a growing base of young smartphone users. According to market intelligence firm Niko Partners, mobile gaming accounts for 77.9% of India’s total gaming revenue. The firm estimates that mobile gaming revenue in India will grow from $640 million in 2023 to $1.1 billion by 2028.

Krafton has been actively investing in India, seeing it as a key market for growth. The company’s net profit surged 119.3% year-over-year to approximately $889 million in 2023. While its success in India has largely come from BGMI, which surpassed 200 million downloads, Krafton has also launched other titles like Bullet Echo India, Road To Valor, and CookieRun.

The deal with Nautilus Mobile could help Krafton expand beyond battle royale games and explore new opportunities in cricket and sports gaming. In 2020, JetSynthesys, an Indian digital entertainment company, acquired a 100% stake in Nautilus Mobile. Krafton later made a strategic investment of $5.4 million in Nautilus in 2022.

“We strongly believe that cricket games have a lot of potential,” said Nihansh Bhat, corporate lead development at Krafton India. “We want to work with Nautilus to make the best effort possible to really realize the potential of this market.”

Krafton’s decision to acquire a controlling stake was driven by its desire to have a more significant role in Nautilus’s content development. “While Nautilus’s potential was the reason for our initial investment, we found our role as a minority stakeholder limiting,” said Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India.

JetSynthesys will remain a “significant minority” investor in Nautilus Mobile and will continue collaborating with the studio on eSports initiatives. Nautilus has previously partnered with Indian Premier League (IPL) teams for its Real Cricket franchise.

“We will, over a long period of time, want to look at increased revenue, increased user base, improved retention, all the usual things, and hopefully new deals as well,” said Bhat.

Krafton has invested over $200 million in India, excluding the Nautilus Mobile acquisition. Nearly 20% of Krafton’s investments in India have been in gaming and gaming-adjacent companies. The company has also backed Indian startups, including payments platform Cashfree, audio platform Kuku FM, and influencer marketing platform One Impression. Additionally, it has invested in gaming-focused funds like Lumikai and IMM Investment’s first India fund.

“We are looking at the opportunity for acquisitions, moderate investments, and even business collaboration with notable players in the country,” Sohn added.

With this acquisition, Nautilus Mobile will join 14 other game studios that Krafton operates worldwide. The deal is expected to help Krafton diversify its gaming portfolio and strengthen its foothold in the Indian gaming industry.

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