KRAFTON India today announced the launch of KIGI Academy, a new industry-academia initiative designed to build India’s game development talent ecosystem. The program will begin with an academic partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), marking KIGI Academy’s first collaboration under the initiative.
Through KIGI Academy, IITM students will receive immersive, hands-on exposure across the full spectrum of game development, including coding, game design, UI/UX, art, and product development, reflecting KRAFTON India’s commitment to investing in the country’s next generation of developers, designers, and creators. The six-month, fully funded program 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 include 30 students, with 10 selected for the residential phase through a structured process involving an online application via the IIT Madras placement portal, application screening, and a personal interview. The program is open to the students of IITM, third- and fourth-year Bachelors and Dual Degree students across all years, as well as postgraduate and Master’s students from any engineering discipline, with no prior game development experience required.
Building on this foundation, the 16-week on-site phase focuses on strengthening core game development skills using the Unity engine, with an emphasis on mobile gaming and collaborative weekly builds. This is followed by an 8-week residency, where participants gain hands-on exposure to real-world game production processes, culminating in the development and showcase of a final vertical-slice game. Throughout the program, participants are mentored by industry experts and introduced to KRAFTON’s global development standards, with exceptional performers also receiving the opportunity to join KRAFTON India through full-time roles.
Welcome to KIGI Academy: KRAFTON India’s flagship game development training program built for the country’s brightest engineering minds. Designed for students who are curious about game development but haven’t had the chance to explore it seriously, KIGI Academy turns that curiosity into real, shippable skill.
Over six intensive months, you’ll go from writing your first line of Unity C# to shipping a full 3D game and learning directly from KRAFTON coaches through hands-on labs, daily builds, and real production workflows, not just lectures. You’ll train on-site in Chennai and then a selected few will join a residential program at KRAFTON India’s Bangalore HQ, working in teams to build a vertical slice with the same intensity as a real studio.
This isn’t a course, it’s an on-ramp into the games industry, with an opportunity of a full time job offer, and a portfolio to show for it, endorsed by KRAFTON.
The program is open to interested students from all disciplines.
KIGI Academy runs across three connected phases, each building toward one goal: turning promising engineers into hire-ready game developers.
Phase 1: On-Campus Training (16 weeks, IIT Madras): Weekly lectures, hands-on labs, and code reviews with a KRAFTON coach in-person on campus. Students ship a new build every week learning Unity fundamentals, architecture, multiplayer networking, and 3D systems along the way.
Phase 2: Intensive Residential Training (8 weeks, KRAFTON India HQ, Bangalore): The culmination of the program. Students join a small team and take a game concept from idea to a polished, playtested vertical slice: exactly how real studio teams work. All expenses are covered by KRAFTON and students receive an attractive stipend.
Every phase is evaluated continuously, not through a single exam, and ends with a KRAFTON India hiring recommendation.
