Kratos Studios Allocates INR 50 Cr To Help Gaming Studios Transition Games To Blockchain

IndiGG IP owner Kratos Studios has introduced the Kratos Games Network programme with an INR 50 Cr grant to encourage gaming studios to migrate their games to its blockchain platform.

Bengaluru-based Kratos has already enabled monetisation for 1.5 lakh gamers, amounting to INR 5 Cr, and is expected to see a 100X increase in the number of gamers with this move.

Selected gaming studios will gain access to Kratos’ proprietary blockchain tech stack, tapping into its extensive community of 1 Mn global gamers. 

Blockchain integration offers monetisation opportunities for both developers and gamers. Kratos’ gamer community spans various regions, focusing on studios outside India, such as LATAM, East Asia, and SE Asia. 

Kratos is seeking partnerships with established games boasting over 500K daily active users (DAUs) and profitability in 2-3 years. It plans to collaborate with approximately 10 to 15 studios by March 2024.

Founded by former chief executive of gaming and media major Nazara Technologies, Manish Agarwal, the company aims to onboard studios onto Kratos’ blockchain, allowing players to earn rewards. These rewards will be in the form of “Kratos cash”, an in-house token redeemable through the Kratos app, explained Agarwal in a statement.

The initial grant will serve as the liquidity source for Kratos cash rewards, while the game’s earnings will eventually fund these rewards. 

Agarwal, expressed the intention to create a community of gaming studios and players on the platform. While the programme is open to studios worldwide, it anticipates about a third of participants to come from India. 

In August, Kratos Studios expanded its operations into Brazil.

In February this year, former Agarwal and early-stage investor Ishank Gupta launched Kratos Studios, a new Web3 gaming venture, and raised INR 160 Cr at a valuation of INR 1,200 Cr in a seed funding round led by Accel.

This development coincides with the rapid expansion of the Indian gaming market. An IMARC study reported that the Indian mobile gaming market reached $2.2 Bn in size in 2022 and is projected to reach $5.9 Bn by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.9% during 2023-2028.

In recent times, we have seen several gaming startups gaining investor interest. A couple of days back, Gurugram-based casual gaming studio Funstop Games raised $1.5 Mn in a funding round led by InfoEdge Ventures.

QuriousBit, a gaming studio, secured $2 Mn in a seed funding round led by Lumikai, a gaming-focused venture capital firm.

Last year, several Web3 startups including Samudai, Zbyte, and EPNS secured funding from notable investors.

Moreover, Indian startups are venturing into both domestic and global investments. 

In October, gaming startup WinZO unveiled its intentions to expand globally by entering the Brazilian market. It outlined a plan to invest approximately $25 Mn to bolster growth prospects for exporting computing, technology, and consumer tech products from India.

In September, Singapore-based gaming company Ampverse announced its plans to set up a gaming studio in India.