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 of Bluehole, which was founded in 2007 by Chang Byung-gyu. Krafton is known for publishing popular video games such as TERA, PUBG: Battlegrounds, New State Mobile, The Callisto Protocol, and InZOI.

March 2007: Bluehole Studio Founded

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

June 2008: En Masse Entertainment Established

In June 2008, En Masse Entertainment was established as Bluehole Interactive and served as Krafton's North American publishing arm.

June 2009: L-Time Games Founded

L-Time Games was founded in June 2009.

February 2010: Bluehole Interactive Renamed En Masse Entertainment

On February 26, 2010, the company 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: Squall Founded

In 2013, Squall was founded by Park Jin-seok, a founding member of Neowiz, as a mobile game developer.

January 2014: L-Time Games Acquired by Bluehole

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

January 2015: Bluehole Studio Acquires Maui Games

In January 2015, Bluehole Studio announced their acquisition of mobile game developer Maui Games.

January 2015: Ginno Games Sold to Bluehole

On January 27, 2015, Ginno Games was sold to Bluehole, with the sale to close on March 27 of the same year. Ginno Games employed 60 people at the time.

April 2015: Name Change to Bluehole

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

April 2015: Bluehole Acquires Pnix Games

On April 22, 2015, Bluehole announced the acquisition of Pnix Games, a mobile game developer, alongside Squall.

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 its corporate name to Bluehole Squall.

June 2016: Pnix Games Renamed Bluehole Pnix

In June 2016, Pnix Games changed their corporate name to Bluehole Pnix.

July 2016: Dreamotion Founded

In July 2016, Dreamotion, a South Korean video game development company primarily focused on mobile games, was founded.

January 2017: Maui Games to be Liquidated

In January 2017, at Bluehole's shareholders' meeting, the decision was made to liquidate Maui Games, effective immediately.

March 2017: PUBG Released in Early Access

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

August 2017: Tencent Invests in Bluehole

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

September 2017: Bluehole Ginno Games Renamed PUBG Corporation

In September 2017, following the success of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Bluehole Ginno Games was renamed PUBG Corporation.

November 2017: Tencent Reaffirms Acquisition Intent

In November 2017, Tencent reaffirmed their intents to fully acquire Bluehole.

March 2018: Bluehole Acquires Red Sahara Studio

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

March 2018: PUBG Corporation Acquires 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 Castle Burn.

November 2018: Krafton Inc. Created

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

November 2018: Krafton Established as Holding Company

On November 5, 2018, Bluehole established Krafton as a holding company for its video game properties following the success of PUBG: Battlegrounds. Kim Chang-han was named CEO for Krafton.

November 2018: Subsidiaries Reorganized

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

2018: Bluehole Pnix Renamed Pnix

In 2018, after becoming a subsidiary of Krafton, Bluehole Pnix changed its corporate name to Pnix.

March 2019: Greene Leaves Seoul Office

In March 2019, Brendan "PlayerUnknown" 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 a new studio called Striking Distance in conjunction with Glen Schofield, the co-founder of Sledgehammer Games, with Schofield as CEO.

September 2020: En Masse Entertainment Shut Down

In September 2020, En Masse Entertainment announced its closure after 10 years. Krafton took over self-publishing of TERA's Console version globally, while Gameforge published 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 Tencent Games due to data privacy issues.

November 2020: Krafton Participates in G-Star 2020

In November 2020, it was announced that Krafton will participate in G-Star 2020 to introduce their upcoming multiplayer online game Elyon through Krafton, an e-sports reality show.

December 2020: PUBG Corporation Merged into Krafton

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

2020: Delusion Merged to form RisingWings

In 2020, Delusion merged with Pnix to form RisingWings.

2020: Squall Shut Down

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 IPO Approval Filed

In April 2021, Krafton filed its initial approval for listing on the Korea Stock Exchange, planning to raise ₩5.6 trillion (US$5 billion).

May 2021: Hellobot User Base Reaches Four Million

As of May 2021, Hellobot, an interactive content production company, has more than four million users throughout Korea and Japan.

May 2021: Dreamotion Acquired by Krafton

On May 13, 2021, Dreamotion was acquired by Krafton.

June 2021: Thingsflow Inc. Acquired by Krafton

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

July 2021: Plans for IPO Announced

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

July 2021: Battlegrounds Mobile India Launched on Android

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

August 2021: Krafton IPO Held

On August 10, 2021, Krafton's IPO was held. Although its value dropped by 8.8% from the original asking price at the end of trading, it ended with Krafton being valued at US$19.32 billion.

August 2021: Battlegrounds Mobile India Launched on iOS

On August 18, 2021, Krafton launched Battlegrounds Mobile India on iOS.

October 2021: Unknown Worlds Entertainment Acquired by Krafton

In October 2021, Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds Entertainment, a video game studio known for titles like Natural Selection and Subnautica.

November 2021: PUBG: New State Released

On November 11, 2021, PUBG: New State was released, and reported exceeding 55 million pre-registrations on Google Play and App Store.

January 2022: PUBG: New State Renamed New State Mobile

On January 27, 2022, it was announced that "PUBG: New State" would be renamed to "New State Mobile" to create a unique mobile-centric experience.

February 2022: 5minlab Acquired by Krafton

In February 2022, Krafton acquired 5minlab, a South Korean company known for developing Smash Legends, Baam Squad, Toy Clash, and other games.

August 2022: Moonbreaker Development Announced

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

November 2022: Krafton Acquires Neon Giant

In November 2022, it was announced that Krafton had acquired Neon Giant, the Uppsala-based developer of The Ascent.

December 2, 2022: The Callisto Protocol Released

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

February 2023: Krafton Montreal Studio Opened

In February 2023, Krafton opened Krafton Montreal Studio, its first Canadian studio, which is developing a game based on the South Korean fantasy novel The Bird That Drinks Tears.

February 2, 2024: Moonbreaker Released

On February 2, 2024, Moonbreaker had its full release.

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

On August 11, 2024, Krafton announced their purchase of Tango Gameworks and the intellectual property rights to Hi-Fi Rush from Microsoft Gaming. This makes the studio Krafton's first video game subsidiary based in Japan.

August 2024: [REDACTED] Announced

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

October 2024: [REDACTED] Released

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

2024: Krafton Signs Licensing Agreement with Pocketpair

In Fall 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, it was announced that Krafton had acquired publishing rights for all titles within the Dinkum IP, a life simulation game by James Bendon.

April 2025: Krafton and NVIDIA Deepen 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 aimed at supporting approximately 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 Korean / USA indie studio JofSoft, confirming that the studio has recently joined Krafton.

2025: Krafton Introduces AI Game Technologies

At CES 2025, Krafton introduced two deep learning-based game technologies developed in collaboration with NVIDIA: PUBG Ally and Smart Zoi. Smart Zois are included in the early access version of InZOI, together with other deep learning-powered solutions such as the 3D printer, to generate 3D assets from images, and more.