Major K-Game Stocks Struggle... Small and Medium Game Stocks Soar Even in a Down Market

New Overseas Releases Show Continuous Growth
Contrasting Downward Trend of NC and Krafton

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Despite the downturn with the KOSPI falling below 3000, the stock prices of small and medium-sized game companies such as Wemade and Devsisters have continued to rise steadily, showing resilience. This is attributed to growing expectations for their earnings as their new releases are achieving tangible success in overseas markets.

As of 9:05 AM on the 6th, Wemade's stock price recorded 99,900 KRW, up 4.06% from the previous day. It has been rising relentlessly this month, having closed up 16.86% on the 1st and 17.36% the day before. This contrasts sharply with the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets, which both plunged during the same period, breaking below the 3000 and 1000 points respectively. At the same time, Devsisters' stock price also rose 1.60% from the previous day to 184,100 KRW. It has surged 156.48% based on closing prices so far this month, in stark contrast to the KOSDAQ's 4.8% decline during the same period.

Their performance also differentiated from that of large game companies considered 'blue chips' in the industry. NCSoft closed down 5.38% the previous day, marking its first close in the 560,000 KRW range since March 20 last year, when global stock markets crashed due to the spread of COVID-19. Krafton, which overtook NCSoft to become the largest game company by market capitalization, also struggled. It fell 7.03% just the day before, closing at 463,000 KRW. After two consecutive days of decline this month, it has fallen below its IPO price of 498,000 KRW again.

It is analyzed that investor sentiment has focused not only on expectations for new releases but also on small and medium-sized game companies that are actually delivering results in the market. Devsisters appears to have attracted buying interest due to the recent surge in the US revenue rankings of 'Cookie Run: Kingdom,' signaling the start of a solid growth phase. In Wemade's case, the success of the recently released overseas mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'Mir4' played a key role. The US-listed ETF investing in game companies, 'Wedbush ETFMG Video Game Tech ETF,' increased its investment weight in Wemade from 0.44% to 2.59%.

In particular, expectations were also driven by the application of a system within the game that allows players to mine and exchange virtual currency, making it possible to function as a metaverse (expanded virtual world) platform. Ho-yoon Jung, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, explained, "Users can exchange in-game currency for cash, which increases their immersion in the game and lowers psychological barriers to spending. The fact that they are pioneering a new business model that connects games and reality through virtual assets ahead of the rest of the world is positive."

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