BGMI Parent Krafton Doubles Down on India, Launches New Mobile Game, CookieRun India

Krafton, the parent company of the popular battle royale Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), on Wednesday expanded its game portfolio in India with a new casual runner game, CookieRun India. Developed by Devsisters, CookieRun is a popular global intellectual property published by Krafton in several countries. Its India counterpart follows the same nomenclature as BGMI to make it more appealing for gamers, who contributed to the domestic market with a valuation of over $2.6 billion.

"This game perfectly blends casual fun with Indian elements, uniquely tailored for Indian players, offering them a fresh take on the beloved series," said Minu Lee, Head of Publishing at Krafton India.

CookieRun's launch follows the success of BGMI, Bullet Echo India, and Road to Valor: Empires as Krafton seeks to diversify its offerings in the country. The South Korea-headquartered company plans to launch three to four titles in 2025 while continuing its game development incubation programme and expanding investments to over $140 million in Indian startups "in the coming years."

These games, however, will likely belong to Korean and other global gaming studios, but the company is keen on working with Indian studios. Srinjoy Das, marketing head at Krafton India, told Republic Tech that the company is evaluating onboarding Indian gaming studios, but its immediate focus is on setting up the research and development (R&D) unit in India by 2026.

CookieRun India features cookie characters inspired by Indian sweet items, Gulab Jamun and Kaju Katli, as well as a map inspired by Indian places and localised in-game events. It is a runner game with different characters based on cookies from around the world, allowing players to collect cookies and coins while trying to avoid obstacles on the path. Unlike Temple Run and Subway Surfer, CookieRun India has multiple stages with several goalposts. It follows the play-to-win strategy as part of the ad-supported freemium model.

Krafton said CookieRun India has recorded over 1 million pre-registrations ahead of its launch on December 11 on Android and iOS.