PUBG publisher Krafton has outlined its business strategy for the next five years, and the overall goal? Find a “big franchise IP.”
During a recent company all-hands, CEO CH Kim discussed his plan to build its properties into long-term franchises “with a high potential for long-term success…that will build on the success of PUBG: Battlegrounds.” The battle royale title has been a strong revenue driver for Krafton, and has two offshoots: a version of PUBG specifically for India, and the spinoff game New State Mobile, available worldwide on iOS and Android.
Part of Krafton’s plan involves its first-party teams, which include Striking Distance Studios, Unknown Worlds, and the recently-revived Tango Gameworks. Krafton will “boost investment” into those 14 studios to help “enhance pipelines, attract top-tier talent, and further specialize development capabilities.”
Additionally, it’s looking to “evolve” its studio management system. To reach “sustainable growth,” it will “efficiently allocate resources” across all stages of game development “to maximize the potential of its most competitive IPs.”
Finally, Krafton aims to “actively expand its userbase and revenue” through diversification. Kim mentioned second-party publishing and licensing, such as its agreement with Pocketpair to create a mobile version of Palworld.
Make my Krafton grow!
At the all-hands, Kim affirmed this three-part plan would “aim to drive exponential growth in [our] corporate value.”
Throughout 2024, Krafton made sizable investments into new studios Red Rover and Eschatology Entertainment, plus non-game video platform Spoon Labs. Kim’s plan doesn’t address how those factor into the company’s mid or long-term plans, such as potential acquistions. Likewise, he doesn’t bring up deep learning or using generative AI in the company’s titles, which he showed interest in last year.