BGMI developer Krafton appoints Sean Hyunil Sohn as its India CEO

South Korean giant Krafton, developers of PUBG, is stepping up its operations in India. Since taking over from Tencent after the PUBG Mobile ban last year, the organization has taken several steps to fortify its position. Having successfully launched Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) on Android devices, Krafton is now releasing the iOS version.

In a move to expand the Indian market and other emerging markets like the Middle East and Africa, Krafton has appointed Sean Hyunil Sohn as the CEO of Krafton India. He has been appointed as the first representative of Krafton India's subsidiary.

So its official now @hisohn has taken a one way ticket to India (Bengaluru) as Krafton's India CEO - big show of our intent for Indian market. Welcome Sean. (link in Korean) https://t.co/JupCKSouEX

— Anuj Tandon 🇮🇳 (@Anuj_Tandon) August 6, 2021

Krafton launched an Indian subsidiary in November last year to target India's gaming sector. Since then, the company has invested in several local startups, including Nodwin Gaming for $22.4 million and the streaming platform Loco for $9 million.

Sean Hyunil Sohn played a huge role in the progress made by Krafton in India. He joined PUBG Corporation as CFO in 2017. After the merger of PUBG Corporation with Krafton in 2020, he served as the head of the investment division, leading investments in global games and related fields, including India.

He said,

“The Indian game market is in the beginning stage of development, so there is a great potential for expansion. Based on the already proven popular 'Battleground' IP, we will do our best to ensure that Krafton can properly settle in the Indian market. (Intellectual property) and the gaming experience will be extended to more countries.”

Krafton recently listed its IPO on the South Korean Exchange. It was anticipated that the company would raise about $3.8 billion, which would make it the second-largest debut in Seoul.

30 percent of the funds from the IPO will be used to invest in emerging gaming markets such as India, the Middle East, and North Africa, according to Krafton's previous blog post.

BGMI, which debuted on Android devices on July 2, is on its way to 50 million downloads. It has already surpassed 46 million despite not having been released on iOS yet.