Webzen Reports Q2 Operating Profit of 23.1 Billion KRW, Up 41% YoY

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Webzen announced on the 6th that it recorded sales of 71.6 billion KRW and operating profit of 23.1 billion KRW in the second quarter. This represents an increase of 18.9% and 41% respectively compared to the previous year.

Webzen's cumulative sales for the first half of the year reached 149.6 billion KRW, up 58.2% year-on-year. Operating profit increased by 132.8% to 60.5 billion KRW.

While Webzen's domestic business in the first half of this year was somewhat stagnant, it expanded the overseas service regions of 'MU Archangel' in Southeast Asia and other areas, resulting in some growth in performance. In the second quarter, Webzen's overseas sales were 28.3 billion KRW, a 3.2% increase compared to the previous year.

In the second half, the overseas service performance of the mobile game 'Shot Online: Golf Battle' will be added. It was released in the North American region on the 2nd and plans to expand its global service regions in the future.

Webzen plans to diversify the regions it directly services to reduce dependence on Chinese services, thereby increasing the profitability and stability of overseas sales.

Next month, the mobile new release 'MU Archangel 2' is scheduled to launch in the domestic market. 'MU Archangel 2' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) where players simultaneously control the Dark Knight, Dark Wizard, and Fairy to engage in battles.

In the second half, Webzen will focus on game services for the 'MU' series including 'MU Archangel 2' and 'R2M', while filling the release gaps of self-developed new games according to domestic and overseas business schedules.

Seven specialized development subsidiaries such as 'Webzen Blue Lock' and 'Webzen Nova' are planning and developing games across various genres including mobile MMORPGs, collectible role-playing games (RPGs), and casual games.

Some development subsidiaries will invest large-scale development costs to introduce major games to the market. Starting as early as next year, they will unveil self-developed games in domestic and overseas markets and prepare for their service.

Kim Taeyoung, CEO of Webzen, stated, "We are recruiting highly specialized talents to prepare new games and steadily increasing the proportion of development investment for technology expansion such as artificial intelligence (AI). We will expand investments while managing internal and external risks by gauging the changes and growth directions of the gaming industry in the post-COVID era."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.