SEOUL — The studio behind PUBG: Battlegrounds, Krafton Inc., has officially announced plans to transform itself into an “AI-first” company, signaling one of the biggest strategic pivots the gaming industry has seen in years.
The South Korean game publisher said it will invest more than ₩100 billion (about US $70 million) to build a powerful GPU cluster — the technological foundation for what it calls “agentic AI,” or artificial intelligence systems capable of learning, planning, and acting independently.
This move marks a decisive shift from Krafton’s roots as a traditional game developer to what it describes as a next-generation entertainment technology company.
The Vision Behind the Move
Krafton’s CEO, Kim Chang-han, said the goal is to infuse AI across every aspect of the organization — from game development and storytelling to employee workflows and creative design.
“Our aim is to empower every team member to grow through AI, to expand creative possibilities centered on player experience, and to lead innovation in how games are made,” Kim said in an internal statement shared with Korean media.
To support this vision, Krafton will not only build new AI infrastructure but also invest an additional ₩30 billion annually (roughly US $20 million) starting in 2026 to train staff, develop internal AI tools, and adapt its production pipelines for AI-driven development.
What “AI-First” Really Means for Krafton
According to PC Gamer and GamesRadar, Krafton’s new GPU cluster will serve as the backbone for its next phase of research into “agentic AI.” Unlike basic automation or chatbots, agentic AI refers to systems that can make autonomous decisions — for example, dynamically adjusting gameplay, generating new missions, or simulating player behavior at scale.
This could mean that future Krafton games — whether PUBG 2, Subnautica 2, or entirely new IPs — might feature:
-
Smarter, self-learning NPCs (non-playable characters)
-
AI-assisted level design and world generation
-
Player-personalized missions that evolve based on in-game behavior
-
Real-time balancing and story adjustments handled by machine learning models
Essentially, Krafton wants to build games that adapt to players rather than the other way around.
Why This Matters for the Gaming Industry
This announcement comes at a time when the gaming world is deeply divided over AI. While some studios, like Krafton, are fully embracing the technology, others — such as the developers of Palworld — have openly resisted AI integration, citing ethical and creative concerns.
Still, Krafton’s bold investment makes it one of the first major gaming companies to stake its future on AI as a core identity, not just a supporting tool.
Industry analysts believe this could give Krafton a competitive edge in the long term, especially as the scale and complexity of modern games continue to rise. However, there are also risks — particularly around creative authenticity, job displacement, and overreliance on automation.
“This isn’t just about technology; it’s about redefining how a game company operates,” said a senior analyst at Windows Central. “If Krafton pulls it off, they’ll set a precedent. If they fail, it’ll be an expensive lesson in chasing hype.”
What’s Next
Krafton hasn’t yet detailed how this AI push will directly affect current titles like PUBG: Battlegrounds, but insiders suggest that the company plans to gradually weave AI tools into its existing development pipelines before fully scaling them to new projects.
With a mix of optimism and skepticism surrounding the move, one thing’s clear: Krafton isn’t just trying to make better games — it’s trying to reshape how games are made in the first place.
In short: Krafton is betting big — $70 million big — that artificial intelligence isn’t just the future of gaming, but the foundation of its next chapter. Whether this gamble revolutionizes game development or becomes another tech experiment, only time (and players) will tell.
