Krafton to expand creative studios to 19 this year

(Krafton)

South Korean gaming giant Krafton Inc. said on Wednesday that it will expand its number of creative studios to 19 as part of its efforts to secure new franchise intellectual property (IP) and diversify game genres.

Since presenting “securing big franchise IPs” as a mid- to long-term strategy last year, Krafton has been increasing investment in in-house development, focusing on new game development and talent acquisition.

Over the past year, it has recruited 15 key production leaders and proceeded with the establishment of new studios.

Creative studios established last year or slated for launch this year include 9B STUDIO, OmniCraft Labs, Loonshot Games, and Olivetree Games.

9B STUDIO is preparing highly immersive games across various genres and is expected to be incorporated later this year.

Kim Sung-hun, head of the studio, previously served as vice president at HYBE IM.

He participated in the development of “KartRider” and “Crazy Arcade” at Nexon Corp. and oversaw titles such as “FIFA Online” and “Raycity” at EA Korea.

Noh Jung-hwan, head of OmniCraft Labs, is a former vice president at Nexon Korea Corp. and led multiple blockbuster titles, including “Dungeon & Fighter” and “Cyphers,” at Nexon Korea and Neople, a subsidiary of Nexon.

Loonshot Games is responsible for developing new titles, including subculture-focused mobile games, and is set to be incorporated in the first half of this year.

Bae Hyoung-ook, head of Loonshot Games, previously oversaw the “CookieRun” IP at Devsisters Corp.

Olivetree Games develops social, casual, and puzzle games and is also scheduled to be incorporated this year.

Lee Chang-myung, head of Olivetree Games, built his experience in the casual mobile game sector by leading development of the “Anipang” series at Wemade Play Co.

Krafton plans to drive new game development by operating small, team-based development units centered on production leaders with proven experience in creating hit titles.

The company plans to first validate new titles in markets with clearly defined core fan bases, then gradually scale successful projects and nurture them into franchise IPs.

Krafton currently operates a total of 26 new-title pipelines and aims to release 12 titles over the next two years.