Smilegate's Surprising Performance... Gaming Industry's 'NKS' Rapidly Emerging as Top 3

Operating Profit Reaches 514.6 Billion KRW, Surpassing NCSoft and Netmarble
Strong Results Driven by 20-Year-Old Hit 'Crossfire'
Newly Released 'Road Nine' Also Boosts Performance

Smilegate is emerging as a rising powerhouse, posting an operating profit of over 500 billion KRW last year. Despite being an unlisted company, it has surpassed major game companies like NCSoft and Netmarble, increasing the likelihood of the domestic gaming industry being reorganized into a 'NKS' (Nexon, Krafton, Smilegate) triopoly.

On the 14th, Smilegate Group's holding company, Smilegate Holdings, released its consolidated audit report, announcing that its operating profit last year was 514.6 billion KRW, a 4.9% increase compared to the previous year. During the same period, revenue rose 10.2% to 1.5222 trillion KRW.

This figure surpasses the performance of NCSoft and Netmarble, which together with Nexon formed the '3N'. NCSoft disclosed that its consolidated operating loss last year was 109.2 billion KRW, turning to a deficit compared to an operating profit of 137.3 billion KRW the previous year. This marked its first loss since 1998. Netmarble ended a two-year streak of losses and returned to profitability last year, but its operating profit was only 215.6 billion KRW.

The core driver of Smilegate's performance is the first-person shooter (FPS) game 'Crossfire', which has served as a cash cow for about 20 years. It was a huge hit in China, where it is called the 'national game', and remains popular in China as well as Vietnam, Brazil, and other regions. The in-house e-sports tournament 'Crossfire Stars (CFS)' features participation from 34 top-tier professional teams worldwide. Accordingly, Smilegate Entertainment, the developer and operator of Crossfire, recorded revenue of 718.1 billion KRW, a 7.6% increase from the previous year. This accounts for 47.2% of the group's total revenue.

The massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'Road Nine', released in July last year, also contributed to strong performance. The game achieved first place in revenue on both Google Play and the Apple App Store immediately after its launch. According to mobile market research firm Sensor Tower, Road Nine generated approximately 30 million USD (about 42.5 billion KRW) in revenue within 40 days of its release.

Smilegate RPG, which develops and services MMORPGs such as 'Lost Ark', recorded revenue of 475.8 billion KRW last year, down 9.1% from the previous year. Venture capital firm Smilegate Investment posted revenue of 19.4 billion KRW.

Additionally, Smilegate Holdings announced that it sold all its shares in the edutech company 'Akipin', in which it held a 34.8% stake since investing in 2019. It also explained that its German subsidiary and the Barcelona-based subsidiary in Spain were liquidated and excluded from the consolidated financial statements.