KRAFTON believes BGMI’s next breakthrough map may not be built by KRAFTON at all. It could come from one of the players already creating and publishing experiences inside the game.
That possibility sits at the heart of what Srinjoy Das describes as BGMI’s shift from a game into a platform. The process began around a year ago and is now visible in creator-made maps, casual modes and collaborations shaped by the community’s interests.
In an interaction with MySmartPrice, Das said BGMI already has hundreds of thousands of people creating maps. One creator-made map has been played more than 60 million times, while several others have crossed 40 million plays. For KRAFTON, those figures are a sign that the creative talent needed for BGMI’s next phase already exists among its users.
“I think the next big map will come from our users and not from us,” Das said. “That is a beautiful shift which is giving us great rewards.”
From Playing Maps to Making Them
BGMI’s WOW mode lets players make a map on a phone, invite friends and open the experience to the wider community. Das called the scale of that activity a testament to the quality of creativity in India and a positive sign for BGMI’s platform ambitions.
KRAFTON already has eight or nine maps and multiple modes of its own, Das said. The next step is to encourage more creators and put user-generated content at the forefront of WOW. In that model, players are not only an audience for BGMI; they are also part of its creative pipeline.
“We have tried to turn BGMI into a platform,” Das said. “When you try to do that, you have to put users first.”
The same user-first approach shapes decisions beyond maps. Das said BGMI’s brand and product managers play with voice communications switched on, speak directly to players and bring raw feedback back to their desks. Instead of centring the competition, KRAFTON says it focuses on campaigns and features that its own users find meaningful.
CarryMinati's BGMI Return Goes Beyond a Voice Pack
The CarryMinati collaboration is another expression of that philosophy. CarryMinati had previously appeared in BGMI as a voice pack; this time, KRAFTON turned him into a fully playable character. The collection around him was designed by animation creator NotYourType.
Das stressed that BGMI’s outfits are ordinarily made by KRAFTON’s internal art team rather than an external advertising agency. For this collaboration, however, KRAFTON chose to hand the design to NotYourType because of the creator’s close relationship with CarryMinati and an understanding of the cultural details shared by their audiences.
“They know each other very well, they know each other culturally very well, and they know the kind of content that caters to their respective audiences,” Das said. “We let NotYourType design these amazing creations.”
At the time of the interview, the collaboration was scheduled for an Independence Day launch, with CarryMinati set to go live on YouTube at around 9pm and surprises planned for participating fans. Das described the event as something BGMI had never done before.
The internal art team, based in Bengaluru, is also preparing another India-inspired outfit for November, complete with its own lore and story. Das said KRAFTON wants to retain a balance between global franchises and Indian names, but with a slight tilt towards bringing more Indian content into the game.
“If we see a lot of users talking about getting more Indian creators, and this works out very well, we will steer towards that direction,” Das said. “Let us see where the market takes us.”
A Collaboration Has to Feel Authentic
Indian creators are only one part of BGMI’s collaboration strategy. Das said partnerships with Royal Enfield, the Mahindra BE 6, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have brought motorcycling, automobile and sports audiences to the platform, while entertainment properties such as Naruto and Spider-Man have drawn their own fan communities.
The differentiator, according to Das, is not merely obtaining a recognisable IP but recreating it faithfully inside BGMI. He pointed to the Spider-Man collaboration, which included Peter Parker’s apartment and the experience of swinging through the skyline, as well as the attention paid to authenticity in the Naruto crossover.
“We did not just take the IP,” Das said. “The focus was always on a faithful recreation rather than just using an IP in general, and I think that got us tremendous fan love.”
That response was visible not only in views and impressions but also in comments, shares and content made by fans, he added. Parth Chhabra said the Naruto campaign crossed 100 million views on Instagram in a short period, with its biggest reel reaching about 80 million views.
For KRAFTON, collaborations bring people with different interests and affinities into a single place. The intended result is not a collection of disconnected promotions, but a platform in which anime fans, sports followers, vehicle enthusiasts and creator communities can all find something familiar.
Five Minutes, Parkour or a Space Battle
The platform shift is also meant to make BGMI approachable for people who may not want a full battle royale match. Das said KRAFTON has to balance experienced players with newcomers, and WOW provides casual experiences for different skill levels and interests.
“If you do not have the time to grind it out for a 30-minute game, you can just drop into Bomb Mode and play for five minutes,” Das said. “If you do not even like a shooter, you can drop in and do parkour.”
A player can also enter a space battle in WOW, he added. The aim is to offer enough variety for people using different devices, arriving with different skill levels or simply looking for a different kind of session.
Das said KRAFTON has not studied the question as a direct contest between time spent on BGMI and OTT platforms. Its interest lies in iconic IPs that its users care about and that can be brought into the game in a meaningful way. If an IP does not fit, he said, the collaboration does not work.
KRAFTON Is Keeping Core BGMI Designs Human-Led
Das drew a clear line around BGMI’s use of AI. KRAFTON uses AI-generated content on Instagram when it believes the result will be funny, but the game’s central creations remain the work of human designers.
One example is an in-joke that brought BGMI’s M416 rifle to life as a talking personality. The audience found the idea funny, so the social team continued the narrative. That use, Das said, is different from the meticulous design work behind in-game outfits.
“Most of our creations, like the outfits that you see, are created by our designers through meticulous effort on their own, and not through AI,” Das said.
BGMI Ki Boli: One Game, One Shared Language
India’s gaming audience is not homogeneous, but Das said BGMI has found a common thread across regions: players may speak different languages in daily life, yet they use the same vocabulary when they enter a match. That insight became the campaign BGMI Ki Boli, or the language of BGMI.
“They all speak different languages and live in different parts of the country,” Das said. “But when they play the game, they have one single language.”
‘OP’ means overpowered whether a player is in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai or Coimbatore, Das said. The same is true of familiar call-outs such as ‘rush’. Four people from four parts of the country can enter a squad and understand their roles through the game’s shared language even when their spoken languages differ.
KRAFTON followed that campaign with DoomTroopers, a Diwali story about a squad whose members came from different parts of India and formed a friendship through BGMI. Das said many viewers responded by calling it their story too. The company has also created campaigns for different states and festivals, from Kerala and Tamil Nadu to Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and the Northeast.
Two More Big Collaborations and a Diwali Surprise
BGMI’s collaboration calendar is already set for the rest of the year. Das said two major collaborations are still to come, along with vehicle partnerships. He also described next year as packed with anime collaborations and follow-ups to some of this year’s projects.
Successful Indian names may return in expanded forms, just as CarryMinati progressed from a voice pack to a playable character. KRAFTON is also planning what Das called an ‘incredible surprise’ for Erangel around Diwali, with details expected to be shared in September.
The larger direction, however, is already visible. KRAFTON wants more maps made by players, more work rooted in Indian sensibilities and more decisions guided by what the community asks for. If its platformisation plan succeeds, BGMI’s future will not be defined only by what its developers add next, but by what its players choose to create.
