2Q Sales 707 Billion KRW, Operating Profit 332.1 Billion KRW
Up 83% and 153% YoY, Respectively
Krafton set a new record for quarterly revenue in the second quarter, following its record-breaking performance in the first quarter.
On the 12th, Krafton announced that its consolidated revenue for the second quarter of this year reached 707 billion KRW, an 83% increase compared to the same period last year, marking the highest quarterly revenue ever. Operating profit was 332.1 billion KRW, up 153% year-over-year.
For the first half of the year, cumulative revenue was 1.3729 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 642.6 billion KRW. Both revenue and operating profit represent the highest half-year performance in the company's history.
The company attributed this strong performance to "solid growth across all areas including revenue and traffic through various live services utilizing the 'PUBG: Battlegrounds' IP (intellectual property)."
Battlegrounds received positive responses from users worldwide through various content such as map updates and collaborations, resulting in increased traffic and revenue efficiency compared to the same period last year.
The PC and console segment saw continued traffic growth centered on the Erangel Classic map service and the NewJeans collaboration. Monthly active users (MAU) grew by about 40% year-over-year, and paying users more than doubled. Growth is expected to continue in the second half of the year with in-game updates such as the Lamborghini collaboration.
In the mobile segment, 'Battlegrounds Mobile' and 'Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)' have consistently received positive responses through localized content, and visible growth continues due to the advancement of monetization models. 'Battlegrounds Mobile' saw significant contributions to traffic and revenue from collaborations with popular Middle Eastern actors and growth-oriented costume skins, while BGMI is acquiring new users through the UC Bonus Challenge and collaborations with popular local cricket teams.
Krafton is preparing two titles, Dark and Darker Mobile and Enjoy, aiming for release this year. Both titles will be showcased at Gamescom held in Germany at the end of this month to gauge the reactions of Western users.
Additionally, to diversify platforms and genres, the company is accelerating equity investments and the discovery of new IPs. Since 2021, Krafton has invested in a total of 27 companies, including 14 in North America and 8 in Europe, expanding the genres of secured games to shooters, RPGs, simulations, and more. This month, the company also recruited the development team of Japanese game developer Tango Gameworks.
Game quality improvement based on artificial intelligence (AI) research and technology is also ongoing. In the first half of this year, ReLU Games, a subsidiary of Krafton, introduced two games utilizing AI, receiving positive feedback from famous streamers and users. New titles using reinforcement learning and large language models (LLM) are being prepared for the second half of the year.
Krafton stated, "We plan to discover original games and IPs and create steadily growing services through continuous improvements and content updates." They added, "We will expand the Battlegrounds franchise business and discover IPs with high growth potential through various methods such as in-house development, minority equity investments, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A)."
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