Growth Driven by PC 'Battlegrounds' IP Continues
Mobile Growth-Oriented Skins Receive Strong User Response, Contributing to Sales
Investment in Discovering New IPs and Advanced Publishing Strategies
Aiming for 7 Trillion Won in Sales and Doubling Corporate Value by 2029
Krafton achieved its highest-ever performance in the first half of this year, driven by growth centered on the 'Battlegrounds' intellectual property (IP).
On July 29, Krafton announced in a public disclosure that, based on consolidated financial statements, its provisional sales for the first half of this year reached 1.5362 trillion won, with operating profit at 703.3 billion won. These figures represent increases of 11.9% and 9.5%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
However, looking only at the second quarter, sales were 662 billion won, a 6.4% decrease from the same period last year. Operating profit also fell by 25.9% to 246 billion won.
By platform, second-quarter sales were 219.7 billion won for PC, 427.6 billion won for mobile, and 9.8 billion won for console. For the entire first half, sales were 543.2 billion won for PC, 960 billion won for mobile, and 33 billion won for console.
Krafton explained that growth centered on the 'Battlegrounds' IP continued on the PC platform, while in the mobile sector, growth-oriented skins received strong user response and contributed to sales. For the Indian version (mobile) BGMI, Krafton is implementing a localization strategy by collaborating with well-known local companies to expand the brand both online and offline.
Krafton emphasized that it is actively investing in discovering new franchise IPs. In line with its five-year mid- to long-term plan to secure "major franchise IPs" presented at the beginning of the year, Krafton is operating a new game pipeline that includes a total of 13 titles.
Krafton is also strengthening its publishing competitiveness, such as establishing the life simulation game 'Inzoi', which launched in early access in March, as a global long-term service. The key is to expand user feedback and build trust through region-specific publishing and a strategy focused on global player communities.
According to Krafton, the regional sales distribution of Inzoi is 29% in North America, 28% in Europe, and 25% in Asia, meaning that Western regions accounted for more than half. Next month, Krafton will showcase 'Inzoi' at Gamescom in Germany and release the first downloadable content (DLC).
The new top-down tactical shooter 'PUBG: Blindspot' will also be unveiled to global users at Gamescom. The extraction shooter genre title 'Project Black Budget' is scheduled for a closed alpha test in the second half of the year.
Krafton cited 'Subnautica 2' and the mobile version of 'Palworld' as anticipated titles for next year.
Jinho Oh, Krafton's Chief Global Publishing Officer (CGPO), said during the second quarter earnings conference call, "Krafton aims to simultaneously release multiple games that can grow into franchise IPs," and added, "Although the release schedule for Subnautica 2 has been postponed to next year, we believe we will be able to present content that meets players' expectations."
He continued, "Palworld Mobile is a very popular IP, and we will be able to provide more details in the future." He also mentioned that other highly anticipated titles, which cannot yet be disclosed, are in preparation.
Regarding the recent lawsuit filed by three former executives of Unknown Worlds, the developer of the 'Subnautica' series, against Krafton in a US court, Krafton stated that the decision was made to ensure the quality of the next title.
Earlier this month, Krafton dismissed the founding members and former CEO Charlie Cleveland of Unknown Worlds, citing delays in the development of 'Subnautica 2'. These executives have filed a lawsuit in a US court seeking damages of 344.7 billion won. This amount is the won equivalent of the maximum possible earn-out payment of 250 million dollars stipulated in the stock purchase agreement.
Dongkeun Bae, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said, "The three former executives failed to meet the expectations of Krafton and fans to deliver a high-quality game," and added, "Rather than concealing problems and releasing a product that does not meet internal standards under the pretext of early access, we believe that replacing the management to preserve the Subnautica IP and protect corporate value was the right decision."
Meanwhile, Krafton announced its mid- to long-term goal to achieve 7 trillion won in sales and double its corporate value by 2029 through global publishing of new IPs and expansion of existing IPs.
CGPO Oh said, "Since Battlegrounds, Krafton has been continuously considering what the next flagship IP will be," and added, "Our organization goes beyond simple distribution to execute IP success on a global scale." He further explained, "There are currently 13 games in the new pipeline, and we are continuously investing in strengthening our internal development capabilities through newly established development teams such as Omnicraft Labs and the ATHENA division."
This year, Krafton has secured 80 new development personnel for new projects. In April, Krafton acquired Neptune, and last month made a strategic investment in the ADK Group, one of Japan's top three general advertising companies, which has participated in the production committees of over 300 animations. Krafton also completed the acquisition of Eleventh Hour Games, the US developer of 'Last Epoch'.
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