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KRAFTON India has announced the launch of KIGI Academy, a new industry-academia initiative focused on developing local game development talent. The inaugural phase is being conducted in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), marking the academy’s first academic collaboration.
The six-month, fully funded program will provide students with hands-on training across multiple areas of game development, including programming, game design, UI/UX, art assets, and product development.
KIGI Academy Program Structure
The program is divided into two stages covering a total of six months:
- On-Site Campus Phase: A 16-week program conducted at the IIT Madras campus, focusing on foundational game development using the Unity engine, primarily for mobile platforms. Students will also work on collaborative builds each week.
- Bengaluru Residency: An eight-week residency at KRAFTON India’s headquarters in Bengaluru, where selected students will experience commercial game production workflows and work towards creating and demonstrating a playable vertical-slice game.
The inaugural cohort will begin with 30 students, with 10 students eventually selected to continue to the Bengaluru residency.
Eligibility is open to third- and fourth-year Bachelor’s students, Dual Degree candidates, and postgraduate/Master’s engineering students at IIT Madras. Previous game development experience is not mandatory.
Students will be selected through an application submitted via the IIT Madras placement portal, followed by candidate screening and a personal interview.
Mentorship & KRAFTON Jungle Framework
KIGI Academy is based on the framework of KRAFTON Jungle, a project-based game development residency established in South Korea in October 2022. Instead of following a conventional lecture-based approach, the program focuses on complete development cycles, taking students from early prototyping through to release.
Participants will receive mentorship from industry professionals as well as KRAFTON Jungle operators. The curriculum is designed around international game development practices while adapting projects to India’s mobile-first gaming market.
High-performing students who complete the residency may also be considered for full-time employment opportunities at KRAFTON India, providing a potential pathway from academic training into the gaming industry.
Why IIT Madras?
IIT Madras has been selected as the inaugural academic partner following KRAFTON India’s existing engagement with the institute through hackathons, technical festivals, and campus game jams.
The partnership combines IIT Madras’ academic and technical environment with KRAFTON India’s game development expertise, with the aim of creating a practical training pathway for students interested in pursuing careers in the gaming industry.
Anuj Sahni, Head of KRAFTON Incubator Program & Director Publishing, KRAFTON India, said, “India has no shortage of exceptional engineering and creative talent. What has been missing is a structured pathway that bridges 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. Through our partnership with IIT Madras, we are creating a platform that prepares the next generation of developers to build world-class games from India.”
Saurabh Shah, Head of People Operations, KRAFTON India, said, “At KRAFTON India, we see immense potential in India’s young talent, and KIGI Academy is an important step towards creating meaningful pathways from learning to careers in the gaming industry. Through this programme, we aim to identify promising talent early, give them the right exposure and industry-led training, and create opportunities for them to build careers in game development. By connecting students with real-world skills, experienced mentors and potential career opportunities, we hope to contribute to a stronger and more future-ready talent pool for India’s gaming ecosystem.”
Prof. Prathap Haridoss, Dean, Academic Courses, IIT Madras, said, “At IIT Madras, we believe that meaningful innovation happens when academia and industry come together to solve 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. We are pleased to partner with KRAFTON India on this initiative and look forward to nurturing talent that will contribute to the growth of India’s game development ecosystem.”
