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Game publisher Krafton to partner with Hanwha Aerospace to develop AI tech

Published: 13 Mar. 2026, 19:34

Logos of Krafton, left, and Hanwha Aerospace [KRAFTON]

Korean game publisher Krafton announced on Friday that it will partner with defense giant Hanwha Aerospace to jointly develop physical AI technologies, including robots, and establish a joint venture to combine Krafton’s virtual-world simulation and AI capabilities with Hanwha Aerospace’s defense and manufacturing infrastructure.

The two companies plan to develop an operational framework for the technology and gradually expand projects to strengthen long-term cooperation based on this foundation.

Krafton is best known for the battle royale shooting game PUBG: Battlegrounds, in which 100 players compete until only one remains.

The company plans to apply its data operations expertise and virtual environment simulation technology developed through game production to train and validate physical AI systems.

In turn, Hanwha Aerospace will provide real-world industrial environments, including infrastructure in the defense and manufacturing sectors, for testing and deployment.

“We aim to commercialize the technologies developed through our collaboration and grow it into a global defense technology company such as Anduril,” Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han said.

Anduril is a U.S. defense technology firm that develops AI-powered autonomous weapons, drones and surveillance systems for military use.

Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han [KRAFTON]

The partnership will also extend to investments in the broader industry ecosystem. Krafton will participate as an investor in a Hanwha Asset Management fund that targets AI, robotics and defense technologies. The fund aims to raise $1 billion to identify promising partners across the value chain and support joint development and commercialization.

This collaboration is part of Krafton’s broader effort to expand its research into AI-powered robotics and physical AI beyond game development.

Last year, the company established Rudo Robotics, an AI and robotics research company in the United States. Rudo Robotics plans to develop general-purpose robotic intelligence systems that can solve real-world problems by combining robotics, physics and computer science.

In February, Krafton also established a Korean entity for Rudo Robotics, led by Lee Kang-wook, Krafton's chief AI officer.

Krafton plans to conduct robotics research through Rudo Robotics and pursue real-world testing and commercialization through the joint venture with Hanwha.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY EO HWAN-HEE [[email protected]]