Neptune establishes Indian subsidiary to convert game traffic into advertising revenue
Ad tech expansion based on BGMI traffic aims to overcome low ARPU limits
Krafton Chairman Chang Byung-gyu. <Krafton>
[Insight Korea = Shin Kwang-ryeol]
Krafton is moving beyond a user acquisition-centered strategy in India and entering a full-fledged monetization phase. The company is seeking to improve the low revenue efficiency that has long been cited as a limitation by expanding its advertising business based on large-scale game traffic.
According to industry sources on April 24, Neptune, Krafton’s ad tech platform subsidiary, has established a local entity, KRAFTON Ad Platform India, in Delhi and begun expanding its ad tech platform business. The local subsidiary will be led directly by Neptune’s CEO and plans to work with Krafton’s India organization to launch the advertising business in earnest. This marks the concretization of a group-wide strategy to extend users and data secured through games into advertising and marketing.
Neptune aims to build a structure that encompasses both a supply-side platform (SSP) and a demand-side platform (DSP), while expanding advertising inventory by combining game user data with external media channels. It also plans to link the business with its hybrid casual game publishing operations in India. The goal is to improve efficiency through an “internalization strategy” that integrates game and advertising data into a single revenue structure.
“In the current environment, where user acquisition costs are rising rapidly, companies that internalize ad tech platforms will stand out in terms of competitiveness,” said Kang Yul-bin, CEO of Neptune. “Starting with India, we will build a data-based integrated ad tech platform in the global market.”
Aiming to overcome India’s market limits and strengthen monetization
The move is seen as a strategic choice to break through the monetization limits exposed in the Indian market. Krafton quickly established itself in India with its flagship title Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). As of April 2026, the game had about 250 million to 270 million cumulative users, an unusually large scale for a single country.
However, monetization performance has remained limited compared with the size of its user base. According to market research firm Sensor Tower, BGMI’s cumulative revenue stood at about $200 million as of October 2024. While meaningful in absolute terms, the figure has been viewed as reflecting low revenue conversion efficiency given the game’s massive user base.
According to global market research firm Konvoy, India’s gaming market ARPU, or average revenue per user, stood at around $2 to $3 in 2023 and 2024. This is dozens of times lower than in major markets such as the United States. The figure reflects a combination of factors, including a low share of paying users, low payment amounts and advertising rates that are also lower than in major markets. The limited proportion of paying users, due in part to wide income disparities in the market, is also cited as a constraint on profitability.
Given these structural limitations, Neptune’s entry into India appears to be more than a simple business expansion. It is closer to a move aimed at transforming the revenue structure. By directly handling ad targeting and execution through an ad tech business based on game user data, the company intends to build a system that converts traffic into revenue. In India, where the share of paying users is low, an advertising-based model is seen as an alternative because it can expand the revenue base regardless of whether users make payments.
The industry is watching whether Krafton’s strategy can establish itself as a new revenue source in India. Through the success of BGMI, Krafton has already secured substantial traffic. Analysts say diversifying its revenue model on that base could help the company overcome some of the limitations of the Indian market. If successful, the strategy could also carry strategic significance by giving Krafton an expandable model that can be applied not only in India but also in other emerging markets.
“Neptune’s entry into India will be a turning point in Krafton’s India strategy,” an industry official said. “Now that Krafton has laid its local foundation, the task of turning that base into revenue is being put to a real test.”
-This article was translated by ChatGPT. (이 기사는 챗GPT가 번역했습니다.)
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