Kakao Games Reports Q2 2023 Revenue of 271.1 Billion KRW and Operating Profit of 26.5 Billion KRW

Kakao Games' operating profit in the second quarter decreased by nearly 70% compared to the previous year.

Kakao Games announced on the 2nd that it recorded sales of 271.1 billion KRW and an operating profit of 26.5 billion KRW in the second quarter. These figures represent decreases of 20% and 67%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the period was 8.7 billion KRW, down 86.4% year-on-year.

Mobile games achieved sales of approximately 171.9 billion KRW, which is about a 12% increase from the previous quarter but about a 19% decrease compared to the same period last year. PC online games recorded sales of about 11.9 billion KRW, down about 16% from the previous quarter and about 20% year-on-year. Other (non-gaming) sales, including golf and sports leisure communication businesses, increased about 7% from the previous quarter but decreased about 21% year-on-year, totaling approximately 87.3 billion KRW.

Kakao Games explained that in the second quarter, the sales momentum from the new title ‘ArcheAge War’ and live game performances such as the 1st anniversary event of ‘Uma Musume Pretty Derby’ (hereafter ‘Uma Musume’) contributed to increases in both sales and operating profit compared to the previous quarter.

Kakao Games expects a performance rebound in the second half of the year. ‘Ares: Rise of Guardians’ (hereafter ‘Ares’), released on the 25th of last month, ranked 2nd in Google Play’s top sales within six days of launch and also ranked 2nd in Apple App Store’s top sales immediately after release. Kakao Games plans to secure a balanced user base and provide stable service based on the unique gameplay of ‘Ares’, continuing long-term success in both domestic and international markets.

Kakao Games New Release Schedule

Additionally, new titles ‘Gadis Order’ and ‘ROM (R.O.M)’ are scheduled for simultaneous global release in the second half of the year. Alongside this, ‘Odin’ will be launched in Western markets such as North America and Europe, ‘Eversoul’ in the Japanese market, and ‘ArcheAge War’ sequentially in Greater China regions including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Furthermore, through Metabora, Kakao Games will release ‘Buddy Squad’, a blockchain-based sports fandom community service, and 6 to 10 hyper-casual blockchain games including ‘Bora Battle’, strengthening growth engines for new businesses.

Joyeon Cho, CEO of Kakao Games, stated, “We have made great efforts to offer a variety of quality games across genres ranging from casual and subculture to hardcore MMORPGs to provide unique enjoyment to users both domestically and internationally. We will enhance domestic and overseas services to ensure our well-made IP titles achieve long-term success, and we are also preparing new AAA-level PC online and console platform titles to expand our lineup. We will do our best to establish ourselves as a leading global game company.”