Announcement of Physical Condition Improvement
Park Kwan-ho, the founder of Wemade who returned to the forefront of management after 12 years, expressed his determination to make a comeback as a leading blockchain game company through improvements in the game business model structure and changes in global strategy.
On the 8th, during the Q1 earnings conference call, Chairman Park stated, "'Lineage-like' games' probability-based items and gacha systems generate revenue domestically but can be hurdles to success globally," adding, "Mir 5 will minimize probability-based items and is even considering not using them at all."
Earlier in March, Wemade surprised the public by unveiling a demo video of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'Mir 5.' Developed by its subsidiary Wemade Next using Unreal Engine 5, this game is designed from the initial stages to incorporate blockchain technology so that players can be rewarded for their in-game play value, structuring the overall game economy accordingly. The release date is yet to be determined.
Chairman Park said, "We saw potential while operating the WEMIX Play exchange. There will be changes toward trading game items acquired within Mir 5," and added, "We aim to change the in-game virtual economy and achieve success in North America."
Park also hinted at changes in the global expansion strategy. Regarding the entry of MMORPGs 'Mir 4' and 'Mir M' into China, he emphasized, "The Chinese market carries significant political and policy risks," and stated that they do not place heavy emphasis on it. He continued, "It is true that we have generated revenue in China, but the share of global market sales outside China is also growing significantly," and said, "Of course, we expect the success of these two games in China and additional income if they do well, but our business plans are being made independently of this."
Meanwhile, Wemade announced yesterday that its operating loss for Q1 this year was 37.6 billion KRW, a decrease in deficit compared to 46.8 billion KRW in Q1 last year. Q1 revenue was 161.3 billion KRW, up 71.8% year-on-year. By revenue composition, games accounted for 152.2 billion KRW, blockchain 5.9 billion KRW, and licensing 1.0 billion KRW.
The global version of 'Knight Crow' made a significant contribution. Since its release on March 12, 'Knight Crow' Global generated total revenue of 57.1 billion KRW, recording an average daily revenue of 2.9 billion KRW for Q1.
Kim Sang-won, Executive Director of Wemade IR (Investor Relations), said, "With the performance of 'Knight Crow' and 'Imir,' we expect to break annual sales records again this year following last year," and added, "Our top priority is cost optimization, and through reducing outsourced development costs and efficiently reallocating internal personnel, we are making company-wide efforts to achieve profitability this year."
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