Krafton Approaches 1 Trillion Won in H1 Sales... Q2 Performance Declines

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Krafton’s sales and operating profit both declined in the second quarter of 2022.

Krafton announced on the 11th that its sales in the second quarter of 2022 recorded 423.7 billion KRW, down 7.77% from the previous year. Operating profit decreased by 6.81% year-on-year to 162.3 billion KRW, while net profit increased by 37.3% to 194 billion KRW.

The cumulative sales for the first half of the year reached 946.7 billion KRW, up 2.9% from the previous year, approaching the 1 trillion KRW mark. Operating profit was 474.2 billion KRW, up 18.2% year-on-year, and net profit was 439.2 billion KRW, up 31% year-on-year.

Mobile sales in the first half accounted for 715.6 billion KRW, representing 76% of total sales. Battlegrounds Mobile, which has been on the market for over four years, continues to improve sales efficiency, ranking second in global mobile game market revenue.

Krafton evaluated that continuous IP collaborations, new map releases, and the addition of new items provided users with fresh gameplay experiences, and strengthening the anti-cheat program improved the gaming environment, receiving positive responses. New State Mobile also saw increases in total playtime and play frequency during the second quarter through repositioning efforts such as live organizational restructuring and IP collaborations.

The PC and console service segment, now in its sixth year, continues to attract over 80,000 new daily users and maintains high traffic even after becoming free-to-play. Accordingly, the average ARPU (average revenue per user) for the PC and console segment grew by 20% compared to the previous quarter. Overseas sales in the second quarter accounted for 94% of total sales, with rising shares in Korea, the Americas, Europe, and other regions, maintaining the global influence of the Battlegrounds IP.

Krafton will focus on game development in the second half of the year. At Gamescom 2022, held at the end of August in Cologne, Germany, it plans to unveil unreleased footage of new games such as 'The Callisto Protocol' and 'Project M' and offer game demos to attendees. Leveraging Gamescom, Krafton intends to reveal a powerful new IP being prepared for the North American market and showcase its game development and publishing capabilities to expand its mid- to long-term influence within the gaming industry.

Additionally, Krafton is officially launching the IP expansion project for the fantasy novel ‘The Bird That Drinks Tears.’ It announced a new game project titled ‘Unannounced Project’ based on ‘The Bird That Drinks Tears’ and plans to release the results of two years of visual R&D in the form of an artbook within the year. Furthermore, a graphic novel being developed in collaboration with Ian McCaig is scheduled for release in the first half of 2023.

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