KRAFTON Expands KIGI Incubator to Games Already in Beta and on Steam

KRAFTON India has opened applications for the fourth cohort of its KRAFTON India Gaming Incubator, significantly broadening the types of projects eligible for support. Beginning with KIGI Cohort 4, the program now accepts mobile games already in beta or soft launch, as well as PC developers with playable Steam demos and signs of community traction alongside early-stage concepts and first-time teams.

Applications opened on September 22 through KRAFTON India's official KIGI portal. The program, launched in 2023, offers selected Indian studios between $50,000 and $150,000 in financial assistance alongside mentorship from developers and industry specialists in India, South Korea and other gaming markets. Participation can also lead to publishing deals, venture funding and potential equity investment from KRAFTON.

The change in eligibility represents the most significant shift in KIGI's fourth edition. Previous cohorts primarily identified emerging Indian developers and helped turn early projects into commercially viable games. Cohort 4 retains that function but now supports projects that have already crossed important development milestones. Games with player feedback or early usage data often require different support than prototypes, with user acquisition, retention, quality assurance and scaling becoming increasingly important as titles approach commercial release.

KRAFTON had already begun moving in this direction with Cohort 3. That cohort introduced deeper mentorship, dedicated functional experts, enhanced quality control and user-acquisition support alongside partnerships with Google Cloud, AWS, AccelByte, GameRefinery, AppMagic, Lysto and GameRamp. Approximately 1,000 applications were received for Cohort 3, from which four studios were selected: XODGames Studios, EvolX Games, Ether Games and RedDevil Studios, currently developing Peaky Circus, Ludaro, Battlefront and Rooster Rumble respectively.

KIGI now has a concrete example of post-incubation success. Mumbai-based Singular Scheme's Frontier Paladin, which participated in KIGI's second cohort, launched on Steam on April 24, 2026. Five months after release, the isometric action RPG with tower-defense elements lists 70 percent positive reviews from 31 user reviews on Steam. While the numbers remain relatively small, Frontier Paladin demonstrates that a KIGI-supported title has completed the full journey from incubation to commercial PC release.

KIGI sits within a considerably larger KRAFTON investment strategy in India. The company says it has invested more than $250 million in Indian startups since 2021 across gaming, interactive entertainment, esports and technology. KRAFTON also announced the ₹6,000 crore KRAFTON India Unicorn Growth Fund alongside Naver and Mirae Asset. The first two KIGI cohorts together included 10 studios nationwide, with Cohort 3 subsequently adding another four. KRAFTON has also launched KIGI Academy in partnership with IIT Madras, a fully funded program covering coding, game design, UI/UX, art and product development with an initial intake of 30 students. Together, these initiatives show KRAFTON building a development pipeline from training prospective creators to incubating studios and potentially publishing or investing in games that emerge from those programs.

KRAFTON India Incubator Program head Anuj Sahani said the expanded eligibility is intended to let KIGI continue supporting first-time teams while also working with games that have already demonstrated early traction. KRAFTON India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn positioned Cohort 4 as part of the company's effort to support developers at different stages rather than focusing exclusively on new projects.