Kakao Games Sees 80.1% Profit Plummet: Can a 2024 Game Blitz Revive Its Fortunes
There are no new works…Mobile game sales dropped by 31.1%. More than 10 new works will be launched next year to enter overseas markets.
Kakao Games’ operating profit decreased by 80.1% year-on-year in the third quarter of this year due to the lack of new games and reduced sales of existing games.
Kakao Games plans to launch more than 10 new games next year, focusing on its core business – the game business. In addition, the game lineup that focuses on mobile phones will be diversified through computers and consoles, and as new games for the world, it will also accelerate the expansion of overseas sales.
Kakao Games temporarily announced on the 6th that sales in the third quarter of 2024 were 193.9 billion won and operating profit was 5.7 billion won. Sales decreased by 14.3% year-on-year, and operating profit fell by 80.1%.
Sales of mobile games, including Kakao Games’ box office IP “Oddin: Balhalla Rising,” fell 31.1% year-on-year to 126.6 billion won. Kakao Games explained that although representative mobile titles such as “Odin: Balhala Rising” and “Arche Age War” have achieved solid results, they have been affected by factors such as the lack of new games.
Sales of PC games increased by 196.3% from the same period last year to 34.2 billion won due to the update effect of “Kakao Battleground”.
In this quarter’s results, factors such as the sale of shares in Kakao Games’ non-game subsidiary Sena Technology and the withdrawal of part of Kakao VX’s business were reflected in interrupted operating profits and losses.
Kakao VX previously stated that it would only conduct core business screen golf and golf course reservations, and withdraw its other businesses such as golf supplies and non-fungible tokens (NFT). However, Kakao Games Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Zhao Hemin said when announcing the third quarter results that day: “No decision has been made yet regarding the sale of Kakao VX.”
Kakao Games plans to focus on its core business, the gaming business, through the efficiencies of its non-core businesses. Redeployment of manpower to non-core businesses and voluntary retirement are also underway.
Kakao Games CEO Han Sang-woo explained the future strategic direction: “The core strategic keywords are to expand global sales, expand PC and console platforms, diversify genres, innovate production and services using artificial intelligence (AI), and increase user participation. degree of program advancement.”
Kakao Games will launch the Hack and Slash game “Path of Exile 2” on December 7, and will launch more than 10 titles next year and the year after. We have prepared works for mobile, PC, console and other platforms, most of which are aimed at the global market.
사진확대 Kakao Games’ future lineup of new games[来源=Kakao Games] The most representative one, Kakao Games, plans to work with its subsidiaries and partners to launch role-playing game (RPG) masterpieces “Chrono Odyssey” and “Arche Age Chronicle” in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 2026 respectively. Both titles are global titles that support PC and console cross-play.
The MMORPG “Project Q” being developed by Lion Heart, a subsidiary of Kakao Games, will be launched in China in the third quarter of next year. In addition, Kakao Games is also preparing “SM Game Station” using SM entertainment idols, subculture game “Project C”, etc.
In addition, kakao games continues to explore investment opportunities to secure new works in publishing. Representative Han said, “Basically, the game market is at a standstill, and the number of game production companies that can achieve a high degree of completion has been significantly reduced.” “It is true that game procurement has become difficult, but we are actively exploring it, including stock investment.”