Krafton is trying to find its next PUBG

PUBG developer Krafton has 26 games in development, and in a recent town hall meeting, the company outlined a plan to “focus on its core gaming business while outlining a disciplined approach to building long-term Franchise IPs.”

“During the past year, KRAFTON has prepared for Franchise IP development by strengthening its creative leadership, as well as upgrading its overall game development and publishing frameworks,” the company says. “In 2026, the company will ramp up development of new titles with potential to grow into Franchise IPs, while at the same time accelerating the growth of the PUBG IP Franchise.”

The “26-project development pipeline” is “intentionally structured around early validation and clear decision gates,” Krafton says. 12 games, including Subnautica 2, Palworld Mobile, and No Law, are targeted for a release within “the next two years.”

Krafton still plans to build out the PUBG franchise, including expanding the user-generated content that “leverages PUBG’s core gunplay, mechanics, and physics engine, consolidating an ecosystem where players can create and share their own content.” (PUBG: Battlegrounds is still a huge game — as I write this, it has nearly 200,000 concurrent players and is the fourth most-played game on the platform, according to Steam’s charts.)

The company also reiterated its commitment announced last year to being “AI First,” saying it is “evaluating how its game technology may eventually be applied to areas such as physical AI and robotics,” which it calls “long-term exploratory opportunities.”