Krafton, Battlegrounds Mobile India creator, will invest in India beyond gaming. Krafton’s Head for Corporate Development, Sean Hyunil Sohn, stated that the company is looking into other fields, including media and tech, in a prepared statement to media about its $9 million investment at Loco live streaming service.
Krafton believes gamers are increasingly interested in live video games, and Loco is the best place in India to offer a world-class game streaming platform. It has also built a passionate community,” he stated in a prepared statement. “Krafton intends to continue investing heavily in gaming as well as tech, media, and other related areas to support and contribute to the growth of these industries in India.”
Loco’s founders Ashwin Suresh and Anirudh Pandita stated in the same prepared statement that “with this investment, we have been supported on our mission by pioneers of the global gaming industry,” “This will allow us to create value and provide entertainment for our users in a way that no other Indian game streaming platform can.”
This Loco deal might seem like Krafton is trying to get a piece of the live streaming industry. It’s similar to Garena having Booyah, which she uses to stream Free Fire and prevent games it considers a threat to Free Fire. Sohn’s comments indicate that there is a more holistic approach to play.
It will be interesting to see whether this deal has any immediate impact on the public, such as Loco hosting Krafton’s first Battlegrounds Mobile India Esports event. This is yet to be announced. It doesn’t appear likely, considering that Krafton’s team responsible for this deal has no connection to Battlegrounds Mobile India’s operations.
