KRAFTON India doubles esports campus tour to 256 colleges with BGMI, Real Cricket
Representative image: Chanzj / Pixabay
KRAFTON India's 2026-27 Esports College Campus Tour, which began on 10 October 2026, covers 256 colleges with BGMI and Real Cricket contests till March 2027.
What Happened
KRAFTON India has launched the 2026-27 edition of its Esports College Campus Tour, doubling it to 256 colleges across the country, the company said in an announcement carried on Monday, 12 October 2026. The tour began on Saturday, 10 October 2026, with events at IIT Kharagpur and IIT Varanasi, and will run until March 2027. Students will compete in two mobile games, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and Real Cricket, with Nodwin Gaming and Upthrust Esports as event partners.
Key Facts
- The 2026-27 tour covers 256 colleges, twice the 128 colleges of the 2025-26 edition.
- Colleges are split evenly across four zones: 64 each in the North, South, East and West.
- The tour started on 10 October 2026 at IIT Kharagpur and IIT Varanasi and runs until March 2027.
- Games: BGMI and Real Cricket; Nodwin Gaming and Upthrust Esports are the event partners.
- Format: campus qualifiers, then zonal stages, then a 16-team College Campus Championship.
- The champion team gets a direct invitation to the invited phase of KRAFTON India's official tournaments later in 2027.
- KRAFTON India funds the prize pools, while college festival committees run the local events; no total prize figure for this season has been published.
- The previous edition reached 128 colleges and, according to the company, more than 75,000 students.
Why It Matters
For most young gamers in India, the gap between playing ranked matches on a phone and competing in a real tournament is large. Professional BGMI events are usually invite-only or need a team with a track record. A campus tour brings organised competition to the college fest, where students already gather, and gives teams a format they can enter without an agent or sponsor.
The scale matters too. With 64 colleges in each zone, the tour is not limited to a few big cities. Students at colleges that have never hosted an esports event get a chance to play in a structured bracket, with referees and a path upward. The direct invitation for the champion team is the most concrete part of that path: it puts a college side into the same pipeline as established teams.
Including Real Cricket alongside BGMI is also worth noting. It widens the tour beyond battle royale players, so students who prefer a sports title now have a route to competitive play as well.
There is a practical side for organisers. College festival committees handle the events on their campuses, which means student volunteers learn to run tournaments, manage brackets, stream matches and work with partners. Those are skills used across India's growing esports and gaming events industry, not only by players.
Students should still keep perspective. Only 16 teams reach the championship, and only one gets the direct invitation. For most participants, the value lies in experience, teamwork and contacts. Gaming time also needs balance with studies and rest, and players should check their own college's rules and schedule before signing up.
| Season | Colleges | Zones |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 128 | Not specified in reports |
| 2026-27 | 256 | 4 zones of 64 each |
Impact
Short-term: Students at the 256 participating colleges can take part in BGMI and Real Cricket qualifiers at their own festivals from October onwards, and fest committees get a ready-made esports event to host.
Long-term: If the tour keeps growing, college esports could become a steady feeder for professional teams in India, and more students may build careers in event management, casting and production around gaming.
Who is affected: College students who play BGMI or Real Cricket, college festival committees, esports organisers, and professional teams looking for new talent.
Key Takeaway
KRAFTON India's 2026-27 campus tour doubles to 256 colleges and offers the winning college team a direct invitation into its professional tournament pipeline.
Questions and Answers
How many colleges are part of the KRAFTON India College Campus Tour 2026-27?
256 colleges, split into four zones of 64 colleges each (North, South, East and West), double the 128 colleges in the 2025-26 edition.
Which games are included in the tour?
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and Real Cricket, with Nodwin Gaming and Upthrust Esports as event partners.
When does the tour run?
It began on 10 October 2026 at IIT Kharagpur and IIT Varanasi and is scheduled to run until March 2027.
What does the winning team get?
The College Campus Championship winner gets a direct invitation to the invited phase of KRAFTON India's official competitive tournaments later in 2027. The company funds the prize pools but has not published a total for this season.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
Sourced and fact-checked by the Peepals Global Editorial Team
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