SEOUL, April 23 (AJU PRESS) – Analysts predict lackluster earnings for Korea’s major game publishers in the first quarter of the year amid an economic slowdown and a dearth of hit games, according to data released on Tuesday.
According to FnGuide, a securities information service, securities firms predicted that KRAFTON, the publisher of the popular online and mobile game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG), is likely to report an operating profit of 242.2 billion won ($175.7 million) in the quarter, down 14.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
While KRAFTON maintained its performance with PUBG, released for personal computers in 2017 and mobile in 2018, it has struggled to sustain momentum with additional hit games.
NCSOFT, Korea's iconic game publisher known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) "Lineage" series, is estimated to see its operating profit plummet by about 80 percent year-on-year to 15.4 billion won, with sales standing at about 417 billion won, down 12.8 percent, and quarterly net profit at 26.2 billion won, down 77.1 percent.
The NCSOFT plans to diversify its game lineup later this year with the release of the fighting game "Battle Crush" and "BBS," a role-playing game.
The Korean game market experienced sharp growth in 2020 and 2021, with an annual average growth rate of more than 20 percent. In 2023 the market shrank by more than 11 percent compared to 2022 due to an imbalance in the composition of new game genres, with major publishers primarily focusing on mobile game releases.
Unlike PC and console games, which generate sales through product purchases, mobile games provide continuous revenue streams for developers by offering in-game benefits and additional items. The domestic game market is predominantly dominated by mobile smartphone games (58.8 percent), followed by PC games (26.1 percent).
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