KRAFTON India has launched KIGI Academy, an industry-academia initiative aimed at building India’s game development talent ecosystem, with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) as its first academic partner.
The six-month, fully funded programme will give IIT Madras students hands-on exposure to the complete game development lifecycle, covering coding, game design, UI/UX, art and product development.
The programme comprises a four-month on-site learning phase at the IIT Madras campus, followed by a two-month immersive residency at KRAFTON India’s headquarters in Bengaluru.
The inaugural cohort will have 30 students, with 10 selected for the residential phase through a structured process involving online applications through the IIT Madras placement portal, application screening and personal interviews.
The programme is open to IIT Madras students pursuing third- and fourth-year Bachelor’s and Dual Degree programmes, as well as postgraduate and Master’s students from any engineering discipline. Prior game development experience is not required.
From classroom to game production
The 16-week on-site phase will focus on developing core game development skills using the Unity engine, with an emphasis on mobile gaming and collaborative weekly builds.
This will be followed by an eight-week residency at KRAFTON India, where participants will gain exposure to real-world game production processes. The programme will culminate in the creation and showcase of a final vertical-slice game.
Participants will be mentored by industry experts and introduced to KRAFTON’s global development standards. Exceptional performers will also have the opportunity to join KRAFTON India through full-time employment opportunities.
KRAFTON India Director Publishing & Head of KRAFTON Incubator Programme, Anuj Sahni, said India has no shortage of engineering and creative talent, but needs structured pathways connecting academic learning with the realities of game development.
“KIGI Academy is our effort to close that gap. For students who have always dreamed of building games, this program offers a rare opportunity to learn how a game is created from scratch, from ideation and design to development, user experience and publishing, under the guidance of industry experts,” Sahni said.
KRAFTON India Head of People Operations Saurabh Shah said KIGI Academy is aimed at creating meaningful pathways from learning to careers in the gaming industry.
The programme will help identify promising talent early and provide industry-led training, real-world skills, mentorship and potential career opportunities, he added.
IIT Madras partnership
IIT Madras Dean, Academic Courses, Prof. Prathap Haridoss said the partnership demonstrates how academia and industry can work together to address real-world challenges.
“KIGI Academy is an excellent example of this collaboration, offering students the opportunity to learn directly from industry experts while working on practical aspects of game development,” he said.
KRAFTON brings Korea experience to India
KIGI Academy builds on KRAFTON’s game development training experience in Korea. The company launched KRAFTON Jungle in October 2022 as an intensive, project-based residency programme focused on building core technical skills through the complete game creation cycle, from prototype to public launch.
KRAFTON aims to scale the Jungle programme to train 1,000 developers annually in Korea. Operators of the programme will also serve as mentors for developers selected for the KIGI initiative.
KIGI Academy brings this hands-on training philosophy and cross-market mentorship to India, with a curriculum adapted to the country’s mobile-first and rapidly expanding gaming industry.
The initiative marks KRAFTON India’s latest effort to strengthen the talent pipeline for game development in India by combining academic learning, industry mentorship and direct exposure to professional game production.