Kakao Games' 'Odin' Hits Big, 3Q Operating Profit 42.7 Billion KRW... All-Time High (Comprehensive)

Namgoong Hoon (left) · Jo Gye-hyun, Co-CEOs of Kakao Games

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Kakao Games posted its highest-ever performance in the third quarter of this year.

Kakao Games announced on the 3rd that it recorded 466.2 billion KRW in sales and 42.7 billion KRW in operating profit in the third quarter. These figures represent increases of 210% and 101%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Kakao Games explained, "The launch success of the new MMORPG ‘Odin: Valhalla Rising’ was reflected, and combined with the performance of mobile games, we achieved the highest quarterly sales and operating profit."

Looking at each sector, the mobile game division achieved sales of 410.5 billion KRW, a 359% increase compared to the previous year. ‘Odin’ ranked first in domestic mobile game sales, and sports casual game ‘Friends Shot: Anyone’s Golf’ and action RPG ‘World Flipper’ also performed well in the global market. The PC online game division recorded sales of 17.9 billion KRW, a 59% decrease compared to the previous year.

Other sales led by subsidiary Kakao VX, which operates the golf business, reached 37.7 billion KRW, a 121% increase compared to the previous year. The golf industry boom and the popularity of ‘Friends Screen’ contributed to the highest quarterly performance.

Kakao Games plans to leverage this momentum to transform into Season 2 with the goals of ‘Global’ and ‘Beyond Game.’ Recently, Kakao Games reorganized its management system and added a ‘Global Business Direction’ under the dual CEO system of Namgoong Hoon and Jo Gye-hyun. CEO Namgoong will focus on North America and Europe, while CEO Jo will target the Asian region for overseas market expansion. Kakao Games recently acquired an additional 30.37% stake in Odin’s developer Lionheart Studio for 450 billion KRW, becoming the largest shareholder. Through this acquisition, Kakao Games secured the global publishing rights for Odin.

They are also accelerating new releases. Various genres of games such as ‘Uma Musume Pretty Derby,’ action mobile game ‘Godis Order,’ mobile collection RPG ‘Eversoul,’ and PC game ‘Distera’ will be launched in domestic and global markets. Unannounced new projects, including subsidiary XL Games’ new project ‘Ares (tentative),’ will also be revealed.

Furthermore, aiming for ‘Beyond Game,’ Kakao Games plans to expand into sports and metaverse fields that combine offline and online through its affiliates, securing new growth engines.

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