Krafton’s India push comes years after the government’s crackdown on 59 Chinese apps, including battle royale games like PUBG Mobile, which has since been re-launched as BGMI.

Krafton, the game developer behind widely popular titles such as PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), is reportedly preparing for a major expansion in India.

The South Korean gaming giant has announced that it will invest $50 million annually, and make strategic acquisitions to strengthen its foothold in the country,

according to a report by the Financial Times.

Krafton has already invested around $200 million in Indian digital content platforms, which makes for nine per cent of its total global investments. Earlier this year, Krafton acquired cricket game developer Nautilus Mobile for $14 million. It also led a $53 million funding round for fintech company Cashfree Payments.

“It is not easy to come up with a big hit like Battlegrounds again. But it is our key challenge to develop another hit game,” Sean Sohn, Krafton’s India head, was quoted as saying in the report. “India is a tough market. Users are not so receptive to new games and are reluctant to spend much on games. But they show strong loyalty once they get to enjoy a game,” he added.