首尔的Krafton公司旨在利用其在印度这一核心市场的布局，从一家初创的印度开发工作室打造一款全球游戏大作，以此定义其下一阶段的增长。
Inc. aims to deliver a global gaming hit from a budding development studio in India, leveraging the presence in one of its top markets to define its next stage of growth.
这家以创立并开创大逃杀类多人游戏流派而闻名的公司，正在加大对印度的投资，并就收购该国另一家工作室进行深入谈判，其印度分公司负责人在接受采访时表示。
Best known for creating and initiating the battle royale genre of multiplayer games, Seoul-based Krafton is ramping up investment in India and is in advanced discussions to acquire another studio in the country, its local chief said in an interview.
该公司尚未打造出第二个像《绝地求生》（PUBG）这样拥有同等影响力和覆盖面的知识产权（IP）系列，而它正试图将该IP扩展为一个包含游戏之外更多内容的宽泛娱乐宇宙。在印度，它正积极寻找下一个支柱性大作。
The company has yet to strike on a second intellectual property franchise with as much reach or influence as , which it’s attempting to expand into a wider entertainment universe that includes more than just games. In India, it’s actively searching for its next tentpole title.
“我坚信印度能够打造出全球公认的游戏IP，”Krafton印度分公司首席执行官Sean Hyunil Sohn在接受彭博新闻社采访时表示。“考虑到潜在的人才储备，以及印度推出的娱乐产品质量，我认为这正被全球受众广泛接受。”全球游戏行业仍在应对疫情后痛苦的放缓，大规模裁员和工作室关闭现象普遍，尤其是在美国等高成本地区。印度拥有深厚的软件工程专业知识，且具有更好的成本优势，即使其尚未在游戏开发领域建立起强有力的声誉。
“I firmly believe that India can produce globally recognized gaming IP,” Sean Hyunil Sohn, chief executive officer at Krafton India told Bloomberg News. “Given the potential talent pool, and given the quality of entertainment products coming out of India, I think it’s getting widely accepted by global audiences.”The global games industry is still grappling with a painful post-pandemic slowdown, with widespread layoffs and studio closures, especially in higher-cost regions like the US. India has a depth of software engineering expertise and presents a better cost proposition, even if it hasn’t yet established a strong reputation in games development.
Krafton在南方科技中心班加罗尔拥有一支由12名核心成员组成的团队。他们正致力于丰富公司的游戏目录，拓展大逃杀类型之外的领域。创造新游戏面临的部分挑战在于娱乐选择过剩，以及少数所谓的“常青游戏”让许多人习惯性回流——《绝地求生》便是其中之一，该游戏于2021年重新品牌化并本地化为《绝地求生移动版》（Battlegrounds Mobile India）。
Krafton has a team of 12 core members in the southern tech hub of Bangalore. They’re working to diversify the company’s games catalog and expand beyond the battle royale genre. Part of the challenge of creating new games is a glut of entertainment options and a handful of so-called evergreen games that many people return to habitually — is one of them, rebranded and localized as in 2021.
按收入计算，印度位列Krafton前五大市场之一，下载量逼近2.7亿次。为加强在该国的业务，Krafton去年收购了位于浦那的手游《Real Cricket》开发商Nautilus Mobile的控股股权。
India is among Krafton’s top five markets by revenue and is approaching 270 million downloads. To bolster its work in the country, Krafton last year purchased a controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile, the Pune-based maker of mobile game .
孙泰镇表示：“我们正试图寻找并加大投资，投向至少经历过一两轮开发周期的团队，以便确认其具备成熟的开发能力。”
“We are trying to find and invest more in a team that has gone through at least one or two cycle of developments, so that there is a proven capacity,” Sohn said.
孙泰镇称，在未来两年内，Krafton 班加罗尔开发团队的规模可能扩充至多达 50 人，人工智能将有助于弥补印度资深游戏人才的短缺。
The Krafton Bangalore development team could swell to as many as 50 people over the next two years, with artificial intelligence helping to bridge the shortage of experienced gaming talent in India, Sohn said.
截至 9 月，Krafton 已在印度的数字娱乐、游戏和金融科技初创企业投资了 2.5 亿美元。据 Krafton 印度首席执行官透露，公司现在计划在南亚地区不断增长的人工智能和机器人领域再投入 2.5 亿美元，战略意图是更好地串联其数字娱乐业务。
Krafton has invested $250 million in India’s digital entertainment, gaming and fintech startups as of September. It now wants to pour another $250 million in the South Asian region’s growing AI and robotics sectors. The strategy is to better connect its digital entertainment business, according to the Krafton India CEO.