KRAFTON Opens KIGI Cohort 4 to Indian Games in Beta

KRAFTON India has opened applications for the fourth cohort of its KRAFTON India Gaming Incubator (KIGI). The program has significantly widened its eligibility criteria to include Indian game-development projects that are already in beta or have playable Steam demos.

Applications opened on September 22 through KRAFTON India's official portal. The incubator offers selected studios financial assistance ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. Participation also opens routes to publishing, venture funding, and potential equity investment from KRAFTON, alongside mentorship from developers in India, South Korea, and other markets.

Expanded Eligibility for Cohort 4

The change in eligibility is the key development for KIGI's fourth edition. Previous cohorts focused on identifying emerging developers and helping turn early projects into commercially viable games. Cohort 4 retains that function but now also accepts projects that have crossed important development milestones.

For mobile developers, KRAFTON will consider games already undergoing beta testing or soft launch. On PC, developers can apply with games that have a live Steam demo and are beginning to show community interest. KRAFTON describes this as an attempt to support promising games regardless of whether a team is starting with an idea or has already reached players.

This shift potentially changes KIGI's role in India's development ecosystem. A project with player feedback or early usage data requires different support than a prototype. User acquisition, retention, quality assurance, publishing, and scaling become more critical as a game nears commercial release.

From Applications to Selected Studios

KIGI's selection process has grown competitive. KRAFTON says approximately 1,000 applications were received for Cohort 3. From those, four studios were selected.

The following table lists the studios chosen for Cohort 3 and their respective projects:

These studios are currently developing those titles, according to KRAFTON's KIGI portfolio. The previous cohort, Cohort 2, included six Indian studios: Singular Scheme, Advaita Interactive, Kleanup Games, Ginger Games, Smashhead Studios, and Unwind Games.

A Test Case: Frontier Paladin

KIGI now has a test case for what happens after incubation. Mumbai-based Singular Scheme's Frontier Paladin became the first PC title to emerge from KIGI. It launched on Steam on April 24, 2026, after participating in the program's second cohort.

Five months after release, Frontier Paladin's Steam page lists 70% of its 31 user reviews as positive. The game combines isometric action RPG mechanics with tower-defense elements and stamina-driven combat. The numbers remain relatively small and are not evidence of large-scale commercial success. However, the title demonstrates that a game supported by KIGI can travel the full route from incubation to a commercial PC release.

KRAFTON's Broader Strategy in India

KIGI sits within a 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. It has also announced the ₹6,000 crore KRAFTON India Unicorn Growth Fund alongside partners Naver and Mirae Asset.

The incubator addresses a different part of that ecosystem. Instead of only investing in established companies, KIGI provides game-development teams with capital and technical mentorship while their products are still being built. KRAFTON says the first two cohorts together included 10 studios nationwide, with Cohort 3 adding another four.

The company has also extended the KIGI identity into education. Its recently launched KIGI Academy is working with IIT Madras on 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 pipeline from training creators to incubating studios and potentially publishing or investing in resulting games.

KRAFTON India Incubator Program head Anuj Sahani said the expanded eligibility aims to let KIGI continue supporting first-time teams while also working with games that have early traction. "With KIGI Cohort 4, we're widening that support," Sahani said. KRAFTON India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn similarly positioned Cohort 4 as part of an effort to support developers at different stages rather than focusing only on new projects.

For Cohort 4, that broader eligibility is the meaningful change. KIGI is no longer only looking for promising Indian developers at the beginning of their journey. It is also looking for games that may already have players, data, and demonstrable market interest but still need capital, expertise, and distribution support to move to the next stage.