Netmarble: "Short Reflection of New Game Results... Anticipation for New Titles from Q2" (Comprehensive)

First Quarter Revenue Reaches KRW 651.7 Billion, Up 4.5%

"Improving Services Focused on Key Countries and Platforms"

Netmarble's new game releases have begun to show results in its first quarter performance this year, fueling growing expectations for a full-scale rollout of new titles starting in the second quarter.

Main image of Netmarble's new release "The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin." Provided by Netmarble.

On May 8, Netmarble announced that its revenue for the first quarter of this year rose by 4.5% year-on-year to 651.7 billion won, while operating profit increased by 6.8% to 53.1 billion won. Net profit surged significantly as the company disposed of its holdings in companies such as HYBE. Net profit reached 210.9 billion won, up 163% compared to the same period last year, and the company swung to a profit from a loss in the previous fourth quarter.

New releases launched in the first quarter contributed to these results. "Stone Age: Idle" and "The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin," both launched at the end of the quarter in March, each accounted for 3% of first quarter revenue. Netmarble CFO Dogiuk Do said during a conference call, "Although the period for reflecting new game performance was short, we believe the meaningful figures show that the titles have successfully established themselves in the market," adding, "From the second quarter, the contribution from new releases will be fully reflected, so we expect improved profitability."

Netmarble plans to officially launch a series of new games starting in the second quarter, raising expectations for stronger results in the second half of the year. "Game of Thrones: Kingsroad" is scheduled for release in Asia this month, while "Sol: Enchant" is due next month. The North American subsidiary Kabam's "Project Aegis" is also highly anticipated. During the conference call, Netmarble CEO Byung Kyu Kim expressed his outlook, saying, "Kabam has been preparing this project for two years."

The company is also focusing its capabilities on strategies for overseas market expansion. Overseas revenue in the first quarter amounted to 512.2 billion won, accounting for 79% of total revenue. By region, revenue breakdown was North America 41%, Korea 21%, Europe 13%, Southeast Asia 12%, Japan 7%, and others 6%. Netmarble plans to maximize its overseas user base through a "multi-platform" strategy, updating new titles to match local user and platform characteristics. CEO Kim stated, "New titles such as 'The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin' and 'MonGil: Star Dive' are part of our multi-platform strategy," and added, "We will enhance services to help users settle in, focusing on the major countries and platforms where most users are coming from."

Updates are also being prepared to extend the lifecycle of existing IPs such as "Seven Knights Rebirth." "Seven Knights Rebirth" is a collectible RPG launched on May 15 last year. CEO Kim said, "For 'Seven Knights Rebirth,' we made preparations in the first quarter to ensure a long product lifecycle (PLC)," adding, "We expect to release new content starting from its first anniversary since its launch in Korea."

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