KraftonCopied

In November 2018 Korean game developer Bluehole launched a new brand, Krafton, to represent the group of development units under its wing. The Investor reported that the group included PUBG, Bluehole Pnix, Bluehole Squall, Red Sahara Studios and Delusion Studio, and that the alliance was meant to let subsidiaries grow together while keeping their independence.

The name comes from the craft guilds, associations of craftsmen in medieval Europe, and was meant to embody craftsmanship and a spirit of relentless challenge. According to the company it was chosen from 900 candidates after a five month process involving Bluehole staff, outside partners and experts.

The company itself soon followed. Krafton's own announcement explained that it would change its corporate name to Krafton and act as a larger vessel for the alliance, helping new development teams grow into studios like PUBG, Squall, Pnix, Red Sahara and Delusion. The Bluehole name lived on as the studio developing the online games TERA and A:IR. Japanese site Kultur reported that the name change was approved at an extraordinary shareholders meeting.

Chief executive Kim Hyo-sub said the company would build Krafton into a strong brand that great developers want to join. That is the real audience. A holding brand for a studio federation sells itself to talent and investors, not to players, who know PUBG and never needed to know Bluehole.

The Investor reported that the group housed developers who release their own titles independently, including PUBG, Bluehole Pnix, Bluehole Squall, Red Sahara Studios and Delusion Studio, behind games such as Playerunknown's Battlegrounds and Bowling King. The name was picked from 900 candidates after a five-month process with staff, partners and experts, and the company planned to rename itself later after discussions with shareholders. An umbrella name for independent studios needs to stand for something they share, and craftsmanship is a sensible choice that does not tread on any single game.

The guild idea is a smart fit for a federation of semi-independent studios, and the K gives a Korean company a distinctive spelling of an English word. It is a corporate name doing a corporate job. Its success was measured later, when Krafton, not Bluehole, went to the stock market.