Krafton Details New Franchise IP Strategy

South Korean publisher Krafton Inc. has laid out its 2025 business strategy, outlining its intended approach to management, resource allocation, IP acquisition, first-party game development, and more. Krafton serves as both publisher and parent company to PUBG: Battlegrounds, the hugely successful battle royal game developed by its subsidiary PUBG Studios.

The games industry giant, which is currently valued at over $10 Billion USD, has acquired a number of studios and IPs since its 2018 inception and has had a hand in the development and release of a wide range of titles, including The Callisto Protocol, [REDACTED], New State Mobile, and Moonbreaker. Krafton also recently bought out the shuttered Tango Gameworks, formerly under Microsoft control, along with the right to any future games in the Hi-Fi Rush franchise.

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During a company-wide town hall meeting onJanuary 16, 2025, Krafton announced its plans to expand first-party production in an effort to secure new franchise IPs. The company intends to step up investment in its 14 creative studios to increase its output of new releases and entice industry talent. Alongside an expanded slate of new releases, the company is also looking to incorporate so-called “Second Party Publishing and Licensing” tactics as it seeks to grow existing user bases for both new and current IPs, like Krafton’s upcoming Subnautica 2, from Unknown Worlds.

Krafton Looks to New and Old Franchises for Continued Growth

Citing “mid-to-long-term objectives and sustainable growth” as key motivators, the company also outlined its intentions to change up its management system and prioritize efficiency in its resource allocation across the entire development lifecycle. As stated by CEO Kim Chang-han, “Our new titles will officially launch starting this year. We are fully committed to securing a new ‘Big Franchise IP’ that will build on the success of PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS.”

With Krafton’s realistic life simulator inZOI announced at Gamescom 2024, and mobile versions of Dark and Darker and Palworld in development due to recent Krafton partnerships, the company looks to be gearing up for a significant expansion across a variety of markets. The diversification of interests and reluctance to rely on its flagship IPs could also be seen as insurance against the games industry contraction of 2023-24.

Despite the critical failure of Krafton’s Callisto Protocol, the company seems well-positioned to continue its steady increase in market value. Its recent investments in a number of new studios and non-gaming ventures point toward a company that’s both able to absorb the occasional misstep and primed to maintain its track record of expansion. What exactly its new banner IP will look like is hard to tell, given the broad array of genres it’s dabbled in thus far, but whatever it is will likely arrive with fanfare that’s difficult to miss.

Krafton

Date Founded

March 26, 2007

Headquarters

South Korea

Known For

PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds)