Krafton Inc., the South Korean video game company, has acquired a stake exceeding 75% in Indian gaming company Nautilus Mobile. The acquisition, which was made for $14 million, will see the South Korean gaming juggernaut diversify its gaming portfolio by adding Nautilus’ Real Cricket franchise to its catalog.Â
Mergers and acquisitions are an integral part of the global gaming industry as companies try to expand their market share and diversify their portfolios. The trend has been prevalent over the last few years, with companies such as Krafton moving to invest outside their main market and audiences in South Korea.
Krafton acquires Nautilus Mobile in new deal
South Korean gaming giant Krafton on March 28 announced its first-ever acquisition in India, buying a controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile, a Pune-based game development studio owned by digital entertainment and technology firm JetSynthesys, for Rs 118 crore (approximately $14… https://t.co/1Wlxl0SggC
— Chandra R. Srikanth (@chandrarsrikant) March 28, 2025
Krafton Inc., The South Korean company behind titles such as PUBG: Battlegrounds, has acquired a controlling stake in the Indian gaming company Nautilus Mobile. The all-cash deal will see Krafton gain over 75% stake in the Pune-based, Indian mobile gaming company. The deal signifies the first time in history that Krafton has gained a controlling share in the Indian gaming market. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of April with the Indian gaming company set to become Krafton’s fifteenth game studio in the global market.
The acquisition deal will see the Indian game studio remain as it is despite the deal giving the South Korean company a majority stake. Nautilus will still retain control of its normal operations and retain all of its current 45 employees. In 2020, Nautilus was 100% owned by Indian entertainment company JetSynthesys, with Krafton later investing $5.4 million as part of its investment strategy. However, the South Korean gaming giant moved to increase its stake in the Indian gaming company after noting how limited it was in supporting the Real Cricket developer.
Nautilus Mobile was created in 2013 and has built up a significant fanbase in India through its sports games, such as the flagship Real Cricket franchise. Nautilus has so far released several games under the Real Cricket franchise with titles such as Cricket 24 and Real Cricket Premier League being launched since 2014. Given that India is among the world’s top cricketing countries, the game developer positioned itself to capitalize on the demand commanded by the niche, contributing to millions of downloads across the South Asian nation.
The acquisition was made to help Krafton expand its operations globally. Following the global success of its PUBG games, Krafton declared that the company would actively pursue deals that would enable it to expand its catalog of IPs. Since 2019, the South Korean gaming giant has steadily invested in setting up and acquiring more game studios, such as Dreamotion Inc., Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Tango Gameworks, and InZOI Studio.
Krafton India’s CEO expounds on its plan for Nautilus Mobile
In an interview with Techcrunch, Krafton’s India CEO, Sean Hyunil Sohn, stated that the acquisition was strategic as it would facilitate deeper collaboration and better support for Nautilus Mobile’s game development. The deal enables the South Korean gaming giant to play a more active role in expanding Nautilus’ reach both in India and globally. Sohn said that the Indian studio’s strong presence in the cricket gaming market made it an attractive investment, given that India has a rapidly growing mobile gaming industry.
“This acquisition is a testament to our long-term vision of making India a global hub for game development. We are excited to deepen this partnership and work together to create world-class gaming experiences that resonate with Indian and global players.”
-Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO, KRAFTON India
Sohn added that the South Korean tech giant was still looking to invest in more opportunities for acquisitions and business collaborations. The Krafton India CEO added that Krafton aims to refine Nautilus’ existing cricket games while also exploring new genres that could appeal to Indian gamers and the global audience. The plans aim to capitalize on Nautilus Mobile’s expertise in sports games and Krafton’s publishing power. The South Korean gaming giant has notably invested over $200 million in Indian companies in the last few years.
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