Nexon, 1Q Revenue 927.7 Billion KRW... 7% Increase YoY (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Nexon achieved strong performance in the first quarter of this year, driven by increased mobile game revenue and the solid performance of major live games in the Korean region.

On the 12th, Nexon announced that its consolidated sales for the first quarter of this year reached 927.7 billion KRW, with an operating profit of 455.1 billion KRW. Sales increased by 7% and operating profit by 4% compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the period was 483.6 billion KRW, down 8% from the same period last year.

Nexon's first-quarter sales achieved double-digit growth rates in most global regions, including domestic, North America and Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, and other regions.

Mobile game revenue recorded 236.8 billion KRW, a 32% increase compared to the same period last year. 'V4', which surpassed 500 days of service last March, maintained its position within the top 10 highest-grossing games on Google Play in the first quarter of this year, driving the company's mobile revenue growth. Notably, through the online user meeting 'V4 Talk On' held in February, the 2021 development roadmap was unveiled, signaling major changes. Following the class change and the update of new myth-grade summons in March, the game’s ranking surged to first place in revenue on the Apple App Store.

Along with the steady growth of ‘V4’, titles launched last year such as 'Baram-ui Nara: Yeon' and 'KartRider Rush Plus' continue to sustain their popularity by introducing new content for existing users and strategic content to attract new users.

At the same time, steady-selling PC online game revenue also maintained stability. In particular, the online FPS (first-person shooter) game ‘Sudden Attack’, which celebrated its 16th anniversary this year, continued to hold the top spot in the domestic FPS genre PC bang game market share in January, thanks to consistent content updates and various user-friendly events.

Domestic region sales continued a solid growth trend in the first quarter. Domestic sales in Q1 reached 527 billion KRW, a 26% increase compared to the same period last year. Among these, PC online grew by 21% and mobile by 42%, maintaining high growth rates across both major platforms.

Among domestic PC online games, ‘Dungeon & Fighter’ recorded a 13% growth compared to the same period last year by implementing various updates such as major character level expansions, new dungeon releases, and fast level-up support.

Also, ‘Baram-ui Nara: Yeon’, which ranked second in Google Play’s highest revenue last year and has consistently maintained a top position in domestic mobile game revenue, continued its success in the first quarter by steadily releasing new dungeons and expanding character levels.

Alongside Korea, most global regions showed steady growth, with Japan recording the highest growth rate by more than doubling its revenue compared to the same period last year.

This is attributed to the strong performance of titles such as ‘Blue Archive’, ‘V4’, and ‘FIFA Mobile’, which were released in February. The subculture genre game ‘Blue Archive’ attracted significant attention by ranking first in popularity and fourth in revenue on the Apple App Store, as well as fifth in revenue on Google Play, in Japan, the home of this genre.

The game, with its academy-themed concept, maximizes the charm of its cute and adorable characters by implementing SD characters in 3D graphics. It also emphasizes differentiation from existing games by introducing various battle modes such as tactical battles and all-out battles, gaining balanced popularity.

In addition, North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions also recorded stable revenue growth with titles like 'KartRider Rush Plus' and 'V4', achieving growth rates of 15% and 10% respectively compared to the same period last year.

Owen Mahoney, CEO of Nexon Japan, stated, "Over the past 18 months, Nexon has achieved balanced results worldwide through a strategy of selection and concentration. In 2021, we will continue to strengthen our global competitiveness through new titles under development, IP utilization and enhancement, and multiplatform expansion."