India is a priority market for and the game maker will adopt an India-first approach, says Anuj Sahani, the head of KRAFTON’s incubator programme and the lead for the company’s latest game, Garuda Saga.
This approach involves launching game titles specifically for the Indian market, he elaborates, in an interview with YourStory.
“This year we aren’t restricting ourselves to just a few titles, but we plan to go all out. We’ve got more games for people to enjoy this year,” says Sahani. “These will be specific games for Indian gamers and the Indian audience,” he adds.
South Korea-headquartered KRAFTON’s most popular title in India currently is Battleground Mobile India (BGMI), a battle royale title where several players can get together and engage in head-to-head play in real-time.
However, the company’s stint in India has not been without challenges. BGMI returned to India in May last year after it was banned in 2022 by the government over security reasons. PUBG: Battlegrounds was banned in 2020 amid a wider crackdown on more than 100 mobile apps that had connections with China.
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Garuda Saga
The company’s latest game Garuda Saga draws inspiration from Indian mythology to build a compelling narrative. This marks the game maker’s second attempt to appeal to the Indian gaming audience, after its previous launch Road to Valor.
Sahani notes that, when Indian elements were added to Road to Valor, it received a roaring response from gamers in India. This was the impetus it needed to launch Garuda Saga.
“In a way this proves that if we are giving some Indian content to users, they are liking it. Considering that we moved ahead and decided to go with Garuda Saga,” notes Sahani.
Garuda Saga features an extensive storyline and characters inspired by Indian mythology. It revolves around its lead character an ancient King Appu who is attempting to escape the depths of hell. It caters to both mid-core and hard-core gamers.
“We believe that Indian content and Indian gamers are evolving. We want to push games that are liked by Indian users,” says Sahani.
The game is currently available for pre-registrations on Google App Store.
“Particularly, Indian users would be able to connect to the look and feel of the characters and the dialogue,” he adds.
The game has been created by game designers from India; the music too has been composed by Indian musicians.
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Garuda Saga
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In August last year, KRAFTON announced that it plans to invest $150 million in India over the next two to three years to boost the gaming and startup ecosystem in the country. It had earlier invested $140 million in 11 Indian startups.
KRAFTON’s India office is in Bengaluru.
The company is close to announcing its first cohort of startups that will receive funding from KRAFTON, under its incubator Krafton India Gaming Incubator, which was launched in October last year.
“We have had to sift through thousands of applications … and finally we have come close to announcing our first cohort,” says Sahani.
Edited by Swetha Kannan
