History of Krafton in Timeline

Krafton Inc. is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company established in November 2018. It acts as the parent company to Bluehole, originally founded in 2007 by Chang Byung-gyu. Krafton is known for publishing globally recognized video games such as TERA, PUBG: Battlegrounds, New State Mobile, The Callisto Protocol, and InZOI, solidifying its position in the gaming industry.

March 2007: Bluehole Studio Founding

In March 2007, Chang Byung-gyu founded Bluehole Studio in Seoul.

June 2008: Bluehole Interactive Established

In June 2008, Bluehole Interactive was established as Krafton's North American publishing arm.

June 2009: L-Time Games Founded

In June 2009, L-Time Games was founded and subsequently attracted investments from Knet Investment Partners and IMM Investments.

February 2010: Bluehole Interactive Renamed En Masse Entertainment

On February 26, 2010, Bluehole Interactive announced that it had changed its corporate name to En Masse Entertainment.

April 2011: Delusion Studio Founded

In April 2011, Delusion Studio was founded, headed by Kang Moon-chul.

2012: Pnix Games Founded

In 2012, Pnix Games was founded as a mobile game developer.

2013: 5minlab Founding

In 2013, 5minlab, known for developing Smash Legends, was founded.

January 2014: Bluehole Acquires L-Time Games

In January 2014, L-Time Games was acquired by and merged into Bluehole.

January 2015: Bluehole Acquires Maui Games

In January 2015, Bluehole Studio announced they were acquiring Maui Games, which was completed in October of that year.

January 2015: Bluehole Acquisition of Ginno Games

On January 27, 2015, Bluehole acquired Ginno Games, with the sale to close on March 27.

April 2015: Name change to Bluehole

On April 22, 2015 Bluehole announced that they had changed their name to simply Bluehole.

April 2015: Bluehole Acquires Squall

On April 22, 2015, Bluehole announced that they had acquired Squall, alongside Pnix Games.

May 2015: Ginno Games Renamed Bluehole Ginno Games

In May 2015, Ginno Games changed their corporate name to Bluehole Ginno Games.

March 2016: Squall Renamed Bluehole Squall

In March 2016, Squall changed their corporate name to Bluehole Squall after becoming a subsidiary of Krafton.

June 2016: Pnix Games Renamed Bluehole Pnix

In June 2016, after becoming a subsidiary of Krafton, Pnix Games changed its corporate name to Bluehole Pnix.

July 2016: Dreamotion Founding

In July 2016, Dreamotion, a South Korean video game development studio, was founded.

January 2017: Maui Games Enters Liquidation

At Bluehole's January 2017 shareholders' meeting, it was decided that Maui Games would enter liquidation, effective immediately, with some staff reemployed within Bluehole.

March 2017: PUBG Early Access Release

In March 2017, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) was first released in early access and became a highly popular game.

August 2017: Tencent Investment in Bluehole

In August 2017, Tencent invested an undisclosed amount of money into Bluehole after a rejected acquisition bid, later acquiring 1.5% of Bluehole for ₩70 billion.

September 2017: Bluehole Ginno Games Renamed PUBG Corporation

In September 2017, following the success of PUBG, Bluehole Ginno Games was renamed PUBG Corporation.

November 2017: Tencent Reaffirms Acquisition Intent

In November 2017, Tencent reaffirmed their intent to fully acquire Bluehole and planned to invest further to increase their ownership stake.

March 2018: Bluehole Acquires Red Sahara Studio

On March 12, 2018, Bluehole completed the acquisition of Red Sahara Studio in a stock swap deal. Red Sahara was developing a mobile game based on TERA.

March 2018: PUBG Corporation Acquisition of MadGlory

On March 12, 2018, PUBG Corporation acquired New York-based studio MadGlory, which was renamed PUBG MadGlory.

June 2018: Bluehole Acquires Delusion Studio

On June 22, 2018, Bluehole announced the acquisition of Delusion Studio, which developed mobile games such as Guardian Stone, Jellipo, House of Mice and, most notably, Castle Burn.

November 2018: Krafton Inc. Creation

In November 2018, Krafton Inc. was created to serve as the parent company for Bluehole and its subsidiaries.

November 2018: Subsidiaries Reorganization

On November 5, 2018, all Bluehole subsidiaries were reorganized under one parent company: Krafton Game Union.

2018: Subnautica Release

In 2018, Unknown Worlds Entertainment released Subnautica.

2018: Krafton Establishment

In 2018, following the success of PUBG: Battlegrounds, Bluehole established Krafton as a holding company for its video game properties, with Kim Chang-han named as CEO.

2018: Bluehole Pnix Renamed Pnix

In 2018, the decision to rename Pnix Games was reversed, and their corporate name was changed back to Pnix.

March 2019: Greene Leads PUBG Special Projects

In March 2019, Brendan Greene left the Seoul offices of PUBG Corporation to lead a new subsidiary, PUBG Special Projects, at the Amsterdam office, later renamed to PUBG Productions.

June 2019: Striking Distance Studio Opened

In June 2019, Krafton opened Striking Distance Studio in conjunction with Glen Schofield to develop narrative-driven games based on PUBG.

2019: Tencent Games Plans for PUBG in India

At the end of 2019, Tencent Games announced plans for PUBG in India, as well as its eSports.

September 2020: En Masse Entertainment Announces Shutdown

In September 2020, En Masse Entertainment announced that it would be shutting down its offices after 10 years. Krafton then began self-publishing TERA's Console version, with Gameforge taking over the PC version.

September 2020: PUBG Mobile Banned in India

In September 2020, the Government of India banned PUBG Mobile along with several apps published by Chinese vendors, including Tencent Games, due to data privacy issues.

November 2020: Krafton to Participate in G-Star 2020

On November 9, 2020, Krafton announced that it will participate in G-Star 2020 to introduce their upcoming multiplayer online game Elyon and discuss related episodes about PUBG Series 3.

December 2020: PUBG Corporation Merged into PUBG Studios

In December 2020, Krafton fully merged PUBG Corporation into their internal studio system, rebranding the team as PUBG Studios.

2020: Delusion Merged with Pnix to Form RisingWings

In 2020, Delusion was merged with Pnix to form RisingWings.

2020: Pnix Merged with Delusion to Form RisingWings

In 2020, Pnix was merged with Delusion to form RisingWings.

2020: Squall Shut Down by Krafton

In 2020, Squall was shut down by Krafton after internal conflicts.

February 2021: PUBG: New State Development Announced

In February 2021, PUBG Studios announced the development of PUBG: New State, the second installment in the PUBG Universe, set in the future (2051).

April 2021: Initial Approval for Korea Stock Exchange Listing

In April 2021, Krafton filed its initial approval for listing on the Korea Stock Exchange.

May 2021: Hellobot User Base

As of May 2021, Thingsflow Inc.'s Hellobot had more than four million users throughout Korea and Japan.

May 2021: Krafton Acquisition of Dreamotion

On May 13, 2021, Krafton acquired Dreamotion.

June 2021: Krafton Acquisition of Thingsflow

On June 29, 2021, Krafton acquired Thingsflow Inc., an interactive content production company known for Hellobot.

July 2021: Initial Public Offering Plans Announced

In July 2021, Krafton announced its plans to file for an initial public offering.

July 2021: Battlegrounds Mobile India Launched on Android

On July 2, 2021, Battlegrounds Mobile India, an aesthetically new version of PUBG Mobile, was launched for Android.

August 2021: Krafton IPO

On August 10, 2021, Krafton held its IPO, which valued the company at US$19.32 billion despite an 8.8% drop from the original asking price.

August 2021: Battlegrounds Mobile India Launched on iOS

On August 18, 2021, Battlegrounds Mobile India was launched for iOS, published by Krafton, Inc.

October 2021: Krafton Acquisition of Unknown Worlds Entertainment

In October 2021, Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds Entertainment.

November 2021: PUBG: New State Release

On November 11, 2021, PUBG: New State was released, reporting over 55 million pre-registrations.

2021: Subnautica: Below Zero Release

In 2021, Unknown Worlds Entertainment released Subnautica: Below Zero.

January 2022: Name Change to New State Mobile

On January 27, 2022, PUBG: New State was renamed to New State Mobile to create a unique mobile-centric experience.

February 2022: Krafton Acquisition of 5minlab

In February 2022, Krafton acquired 5minlab, a South Korean video game development studio known for developing titles such as Smash Legends.

August 2022: Moonbreaker Development Announced

In August 2022, Unknown Worlds announced the development of Moonbreaker, a turn-based strategy game set in a sci-fi universe crafted by author Brandon Sanderson.

November 2022: Krafton Acquired Neon Giant

In November 2022, Krafton acquired Neon Giant, the Uppsala-based Swedish developer of The Ascent.

December 2, 2022: The Callisto Protocol Release

On December 2, 2022, Striking Distance Studios released its first game, The Callisto Protocol, a survival horror game.

February 2023: Krafton Opened Montreal Studio

In February 2023, Krafton opened Krafton Montreal Studio, its first Canadian studio, which is developing Project Windless based on The Bird That Drinks Tears.

June 2023: ReLu Games Founded within Krafton

In June 2023, ReLu Games was founded internally within Krafton to develop games that integrate deep learning technology through AI.

February 2, 2024: Moonbreaker Full Release

On February 2, 2024, Moonbreaker, developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, had its full release.

August 11, 2024: Krafton Acquires Tango Gameworks and Hi-Fi Rush IP

On August 11, 2024, Krafton acquired Tango Gameworks and the rights to the Hi-Fi Rush IP from Microsoft Gaming. This acquisition marks Krafton's first video game subsidiary in Japan. Krafton also formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft to integrate Tango and support future Hi-Fi Rush projects.

August 2024: Striking Distance announced new game

In August 2024, the studio announced [REDACTED], a new game set in the Callisto Protocol universe.

October 2024: [REDACTED] Release

On October 28, 2024, [REDACTED] was released receiving positive reviews.

2024: Licensing agreement for Palworld's IP

In Fall of 2024, Krafton signed a licensing agreement with Pocketpair for Palworld's intellectual property and PUBG Studios began developing a mobile version of the game.

February 2025: Krafton Acquires Publishing Rights for Dinkum IP

In February 2025, Krafton announced that it had acquired publishing rights for all titles within the Dinkum IP.

April 2025: Krafton and NVIDIA Discuss Deepening Collaboration

In April 2025, Krafton and NVIDIA discussed deepening their collaboration, focusing on Agentic AI and Embodied AI.

April 2025: Krafton Announces Blue Ocean Games Venture Capital Fund

In April 2025, Krafton announced Blue Ocean Games, a $30 million venture capital fund to support about 100 indie game developers over three years.

June 2025: Krafton Announces First Steam Publisher Sale

In June 2025, Krafton announced its first Steam publisher sale, including Pizza Bandit by JofSoft. This confirms that JofSoft recently joined Krafton.

July 2025: Leadership Changes at Unknown Worlds & Lawsuit

In July 2025, Krafton replaced Unknown Worlds' leadership, leading to widespread criticism and a lawsuit filed by the original leaders over alleged wrongful termination and a $250 million bonus.

July 2025: Krafton Acquires Eleventh Hour Games

In July 2025, specifically on the 25th, Krafton announced the acquisition of Last Epoch developer Eleventh Hour Games for an initial purchase price of $96 million.

October 27, 2025: MIMESIS Early Access Release

On October 27, 2025, ReLu Games released MIMESIS, a co-op survival horror game, for Windows via Steam in early access.

2025: Krafton Introduces Deep Learning Game Technologies at CES 2025

At CES 2025, Krafton introduced two deep learning-based game technologies developed with NVIDIA: PUBG Ally and Smart Zoi. Smart Zois are included in the early access version of InZOI.

2025: Krafton founds InZOI Studio

In early 2025, Krafton founded InZOI Studio, the development studio behind the simulation game InZOI.

2026: Krafton Launches Unicorn Growth Fund with Naver and Mirae Asset Securities

In 2026, Krafton, in collaboration with Naver Corporation and Mirae Asset Securities, launched the "Unicorn Growth Fund" focused on technology startups in India, with initial investments of around $137 million each from Krafton and Naver, expecting to deploy around $670 million over four years.