South Korea’s gaming giant Krafton confirmed on Friday that it has acquired a controlling stake of over 75% in Pune-based gaming studio Nautilus Mobile for $14 million in an all-cash deal to expand its footprint in India’s surging mobile sports market. Known globally for blockbuster franchises like PUBG: Battlegrounds and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Krafton plans to leverage the 12-year-old Indian developer’s flagship cricket games to diversify its revenue streams beyond battle royale titles.
Strategic Expansion into Cricket Gaming
Expected to close by the end of the month, the transaction ensures that Nautilus Mobile will continue to operate as an independent studio. Krafton confirmed that all 45 employees currently on the studio’s payroll will be retained.
Since its inception in 2013, Nautilus has built a massive audience around its flagship Real Cricket franchise. The popular series currently features five active titles, including Real Cricket 24 and Real Cricket Premier League, generating tens of millions of downloads across mobile platforms.
Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India, noted that the immediate goal is to sharpen Nautilus’ core expertise in mobile cricket games to serve India’s massive fanbase, followed by long-term exploration into entirely new game genres.
“Our development capability in Nautilus will help Krafton double down on its India gaming strategy, and together, we can probably build more games, more genres, both for the Indian market and global market going forward,” said Nautilus CEO Anuj Mankar.
Krafton also confirmed plans to scale Nautilus’ titles into international territories over time, targeting regions where cricket fandom is actively expanding.
Capitalizing on India’s Booming Mobile Market
India’s digital entertainment economy is expanding rapidly, backed by a massive population of young, smartphone-first users. Market intelligence firm Niko Partners reports that mobile gaming accounts for 77.9% of total gaming revenue in India, with domestic mobile gaming revenue projected to surge from $640 million in 2023 to $1.1 billion by 2028.
Krafton reported a 119.3% year-over-year surge in net profit last year, reaching approximately $889 million (KRW 1.3 trillion). India has emerged as a focal point for this growth. However, Krafton’s regional performance has heavily relied on its localized battle royale title, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), which achieved record sales last year and surpassed 200 million downloads.
While Krafton operates other regional titles such as Bullet Echo India, Road to Valor, and CookieRun, none have yet replicated the phenomenal hit status of BGMI. The Nautilus acquisition gives Krafton a direct pipeline into sports gaming, offering a proven strategy to reach fresh demographics.
From Minority Stake to Full Control
In 2020, digital entertainment group JetSynthesys acquired 100% of Nautilus Mobile. Krafton later stepped in with a $5.4 million strategic investment in 2022.
Sohn explained that while Nautilus displayed immense promise during the initial minority investment, a passive stake constrained Krafton’s capacity to assist with content development. Taking majority ownership enables hands-on, deep technical collaboration across development efforts.
“We strongly believe that cricket games have a lot of potential. And we want to work with Nautilus to make the best effort possible to really realize the potential of this market, not just in India, but in other cricket-playing nations and other countries, which are becoming more active in cricket,” stated Nihansh Bhat, corporate lead development at Krafton India.
JetSynthesys will maintain a significant minority position in Nautilus Mobile and remain engaged in esports operations. The company previously facilitated partnerships between the Real Cricket franchise and top teams in the Indian Premier League, the world’s premier cricket league.
Krafton’s Growing Investment Footprint
Bhat highlighted that post-acquisition performance metrics will focus on driving top-line revenue, expanding active player numbers, boosting long-term user retention, and forging new commercial licensing deals.
Excluding the Nautilus acquisition, Krafton has deployed over $200 million across India’s technology ecosystem. Approximately 20% of its capital has backed gaming and gaming-adjacent firms, alongside tech startups such as payments processor Cashfree, audio network Kuku FM, and influencer marketing agency One Impression. The publisher has also backed funds including Lumikai and IMM Investment’s India venture 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 transaction, Nautilus Mobile becomes the 15th game development studio operating under Krafton’s global corporate umbrella.
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