KRAFTON Scaling up with the Launch of Dark and Darker Mobile and inZOI in 2024

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - 25 January, 2024 – Today, KRAFTON (CEO CH Kim) shared its management strategy for the year in a KRAFTON LIVE TALK (KLT), its company-wide town hall meeting. 

The topic of this KLT was ‘From Original Creative to Scale-up the Creative’. KRAFTON CEO CH Kim stated that “2024 will be the year when the ‘Scale-up the Creative’ strategy bears its first fruit. It will be a pivotal year that shapes the stepwise growth of KRAFTON.” Last year, KRAFTON announced the ‘Scale-up the Creative’ strategy, aiming to discover diverse creatives and grow into a global publisher. ‘Scale-up the Creative’ strategy signifies a business direction aimed at discovering new excitement in games and effectively expanding into the global market.

KRAFTON aims to release new titles every year, operating a total of over 20 pipelines, including Dark and Darker Mobile, inZOI, Dinkum Mobile, Project Black Budget, and the next game in the Subnautica series. Among them, both Dark and Darker Mobile and inZOI are scheduled for release in 2024.

CH Kim also called for the consolidation of KRAFTON members’ capabilities and a shift in mindset. Going beyond enhancing publishing capabilities, he encouraged all members to explore every avenue that amplifies the value of creativity, encompassing discovery, production, and commercialisation. KRAFTON intends to overhaul its internal structure to empower its publishing units to navigate and respond more flexibly to potential and growth trends. The objective is to cultivate an environment where new IPs can swiftly penetrate the markets with agility. 

For the mid to long-term initiatives, an emphasis was placed on the importance of continuous investment for the global expansion of the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS IP and the Indian market. KRAFTON aims to franchise the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS IP, constructing its platform ecosystem to establish a distinctive competitive edge. Specifically, the company plans to execute a long-term brand strategy, involving the expansion of the product lineup based on the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS IP and an increase of development activities through internal and external studios, as well as outsourcing. Furthermore, CH Kim reaffirmed investment and growth prospects in the Indian market, including securing the top position of BGMI in the market, and expansion of publishing and esports activities in India. 

The significance of leveraging deep learning technology was also underscored. Recognised as a ‘game changer’ with the potential to reshape the gaming industry, Kim expressed a commitment to actively incorporate it into the development process. Considering KRAFTON’s existing global-top-level AI R&D capabilities, he anticipated that it would not only enhance production efficiency but also deliver innovative, user-centric experiences. 

Kim concluded, “This year marks the beginning of the launch of our new lineup, starting with Dark and Darker Mobile, and it will be the first year to see tangible results from our ‘Scale-up the Creative’ strategy. With the aim of evolving the process into a virtuous cycle, all members should dedicate their full efforts into game development.”