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Overview

KRAFTON, Inc. (Korean: 크래프톤) is a South Korean video game holding company headquartered in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, near Seoul. The company is the publisher of inZOI and the parent organization of inZOI Studio. Krafton is best known globally as the company behind PUBG: Battlegrounds, one of the most commercially successful games of all time. Through a combination of internal studio creation and strategic acquisitions, Krafton has grown from a single-game developer into a multinational holding company overseeing more than a dozen studios across South Korea, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Sweden.

As of 2025, Krafton employs over 3,500 people worldwide. The company is publicly traded on the Korea Exchange under ticker symbol 259960.KS and reported record annual revenue of 3.33 trillion KRW (approximately $2.3 billion USD) for the 2025 fiscal year.

History

Founding as Bluehole (2007)

The company was originally founded as Bluehole Studio Inc. by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul, South Korea in March 2007. Chang was already a veteran of the Korean tech industry. He had co-founded Neowiz in 1997 (serving as CTO), then left in 2005 to create search engine startup First Snow, whose technology he sold to Naver Corporation for 35 billion KRW (roughly $31 million USD) in 2006. With the proceeds, Chang established Bluehole to pursue his vision for online gaming.

Bluehole's first major project was TERA (The Exiled Realm of Arborea), a fantasy MMORPG that featured a real-time action combat system rather than the tab-targeting mechanics common in the genre at the time. TERA launched in South Korea in January 2011 and expanded to North America and Europe in May 2012. The game transitioned to a free-to-play model in 2013 under the name TERA: Rising and accumulated over 25 million registered users by 2017. Bluehole eventually ceased development on TERA in 2022, and the PC servers shut down on June 30, 2022, after more than a decade of operation.

The Rise of PUBG (2017)

In 2017, Bluehole released PUBG: Battlegrounds (originally titled PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) for PC through Steam Early Access. The game, designed by Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene, dropped 100 players onto a shrinking map to fight until one remained. It became a cultural phenomenon almost overnight, selling over 75 million copies on PC and console before transitioning to a free-to-play model in January 2022. The free-to-play shift brought in 45 million new players during 2022 alone, with more than 80,000 new accounts created per day.

PUBG is widely credited with popularizing the battle royale genre that went on to inspire games like Fortnite Battle Royale and Apex Legends. The mobile version, PUBG Mobile, was developed and published by Tencent under a licensing agreement and became one of the highest-grossing mobile games globally. The combined PUBG franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue across all platforms and remains Krafton's primary revenue driver to this day. In 2024, PUBG: Battlegrounds on PC and console alone generated nearly 1 trillion KRW in sales.

Tencent Investment (2017-2018)

In August 2017, Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent acquired an initial 11.5% equity stake in Bluehole, a deal that was finalized after a rejected outright acquisition bid. Tencent gradually increased its ownership to approximately 13.5% through its investment vehicle Image Frame Investment. The partnership extended beyond equity; Tencent secured the rights to develop and distribute PUBG Mobile in China and several other Asian markets. As of 2025, Tencent remains a significant minority shareholder but does not control Krafton or own the core PUBG intellectual property.

Rebranding to Krafton (2018)

On November 5, 2018, the company restructured and rebranded as KRAFTON, Inc. The change reflected the company's evolution from a single-studio developer into a holding company overseeing multiple game studios and projects. All existing subsidiaries were reorganized under the Krafton Game Union umbrella. The name "Krafton" is derived from the English word "craft," matching the company's stated focus on crafting interactive entertainment experiences across multiple genres and platforms.

IPO and Public Listing (2021)

Krafton filed for its initial public offering in April 2021 and listed on the Korea Exchange on August 10, 2021. The company priced 8.65 million shares at 498,000 KRW each, raising 4.3 trillion KRW (approximately $3.8 billion USD). The IPO was one of the largest in South Korean history. On its first day of trading, Krafton's market capitalization reached 22.2 trillion KRW, making it South Korea's most valuable gaming company at the time, surpassing both NCSoft (17.9 trillion KRW) and Netmarble (11.6 trillion KRW).

The stock opened below its IPO price at 448,500 KRW per share and has experienced significant volatility since listing. Despite the rocky start on the exchange, the IPO made founder Chang Byung-gyu a billionaire and provided Krafton with substantial capital for its acquisition strategy in the years that followed.

Subsidiaries and Studios

Krafton operates as a holding company with numerous subsidiary studios, each focused on different games and genres. The company has expanded through both internal studio creation and strategic acquisitions, particularly between 2021 and 2024.

Key Acquisitions

Krafton's growth strategy has relied heavily on acquiring established studios with proven IP:

• Unknown Worlds (2021): The San Francisco-based studio behind the Subnautica franchise was acquired in 2021, bringing Western development talent and a beloved survival game IP into the Krafton portfolio.

• Neon Giant (2022): The Uppsala, Sweden-based developer of The Ascent, a cyberpunk action RPG, was acquired in November 2022.

• 5minlab (2022): A South Korean studio known for Smash Legends and Baam Squad was acquired in 2022, strengthening Krafton's mobile and multiplayer capabilities.

• Tango Gameworks (2024): After Microsoft closed the Tokyo-based studio in June 2024, Krafton stepped in to acquire Tango Gameworks and the Hi-Fi Rush IP in August 2024. Around 50 of the original 105 staff members returned, and the team is now developing Hi-Fi Rush 2 under Krafton's ownership. This acquisition marked Krafton's first major investment in the Japanese game development market.

Notable Games

PUBG: Battlegrounds remains Krafton's primary revenue driver and one of the most-played games globally since its 2017 launch. The game popularized the battle royale genre and has generated billions of dollars across PC, console, and mobile versions. In 2024, PUBG: Battlegrounds set a record peak of 890,000 concurrent players on PC and console.

Financial Performance

Krafton has posted strong financial growth since its IPO, driven primarily by the PUBG franchise and increasingly by new titles like inZOI.

*The 2025 operating profit figure reflects a one-time expense of 81.6 billion KRW related to a joint labor welfare fund tied to Krafton's planned headquarters relocation to Seongsu, Seoul.

In 2024, Krafton achieved all-time highs in both sales and operating profit, with year-over-year growth of 41.8% in revenue and 54.0% in operating profit. The PUBG IP continued to drive the majority of revenue, while the free-to-play model on PC and console generated record engagement. BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI) also recorded its highest-ever sales in 2024, contributing to a 35.7% year-over-year increase in mobile revenue.

In Q1 2025, Krafton set a new record for quarterly sales at 874.2 billion KRW, a 31.3% year-over-year increase. The launch of inZOI in March 2025 contributed directly to this result, with the game surpassing one million copies sold in its first week.

Krafton and inZOI

inZOI represents a significant strategic departure for Krafton. The company's portfolio has historically centered on competitive multiplayer games (PUBG) and action-oriented titles (The Callisto Protocol, TERA). A life simulation game was an entirely new genre for the company, signaling Krafton's ambition to diversify beyond its core strengths.

Hyungjun Kim, known by his nickname "Kjun," founded inZOI Studio within Krafton to develop the project. Kim brought over 15 years of game development experience, including roles as Producer for AION and Executive Director at NCSOFT, and as Associate Director on PUBG: Battlegrounds at Krafton. He now serves as CEO, Producer, and Director of inZOI Studio.

inZOI launched in Early Access on Steam on March 28, 2025, and climbed to the number one spot on Steam's Global Top Sellers list within 40 minutes of release. The game surpassed one million copies sold within its first week, making it the fastest title to reach that milestone in Krafton's history. Approximately 95% of sales came from international markets outside South Korea, demonstrating Krafton's ability to produce globally appealing original IP.

Krafton has designated inZOI as a long-term franchise, committing to years of ongoing updates and content expansion. All Early Access updates are provided free of charge. The company has also invested in AI technology for the game, including the "Smart Zoi" deep learning system developed in collaboration with NVIDIA, which was showcased at CES 2025. For more on the studio behind the game, see the inZOI Studio article. For commercial performance details, see Reception and Reviews.

Leadership

Chang Byung-gyu serves as the founder and chairman of Krafton. A graduate of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Chang has been involved in the Korean technology sector since the late 1990s. Before founding Bluehole in 2007, he co-founded Neowiz (1997) and sold search engine startup First Snow to Naver (2006). Chang became a billionaire following Krafton's 2021 IPO. Beyond gaming, Chang has publicly advocated for South Korea to invest more heavily in robotics and deep learning research, viewing these fields as critical to the country's technological future.

Company Details