Krafton reported a decline in operating profit despite an increase in revenue for the third quarter of this year. The company achieved record cumulative revenue and operating profit for the period.
In a disclosure on November 10, Krafton announced that its consolidated revenue for Q3 reached 971.4 billion won, an 11.6% increase, while operating profit fell 35.3% year-on-year to 225 billion won.
The company recorded a net loss of 68.4 billion won, attributed to foreign exchange losses from converting dollar-denominated assets into won due to currency depreciation. A Krafton representative stated, "This is an accounting evaluation loss, and the dollar-denominated asset size remains unchanged. The actual impact is limited, and if the exchange rate rises again, it will return as a conversion profit."
Conversely, the cumulative figures for Q3 set new records, with total revenue reaching 3.633 trillion won and operating profit at 1.1975 trillion won, marking increases of 51% and 14%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Revenue by business segment included 238.9 billion won from PC, 504.3 billion won from mobile, 8.6 billion won from consoles, and 219.6 billion won from other sources. The cumulative revenue from the PUBG intellectual property franchise increased by 11% year-on-year.
On the PC platform, the monthly active users (MAU) for PUBG: Battlegrounds continued to grow in double digits.
The mobile platform saw a 3% increase year-on-year and a 12% increase from the previous quarter, driven by global IP collaborations with Naruto and Ferrari during the summer vacation peak. The revenue from electric guitar sales included 198.4 billion won from ADK Group's advertising and content revenue.
In Q4, Krafton plans to focus on expanding the user base for the PUBG IP. Starting in November, the company is collaborating with K-pop group IVE. A low-capacity mobile game, BGMI Air, targeting emerging markets, is set to launch on December 10, with pre-registrations exceeding 14 million. Next year marks the 10th anniversary of PUBG, and Krafton is preparing a major content update.
The company is also fostering new IPs, with Subnautica 2 surpassing 5 million in cumulative sales and maintaining a 91% positive rating on the game distribution platform Steam. Krafton plans to enhance the game's quality for its official release with an Early Access 2.0 update by the end of the year.
A new PUBG IP title, PUBG: DED.NET, is under development with a target release in 2027. This game aims at Western console shooter users, combining the shooting mechanics of Battlegrounds with roguelike growth elements. Krafton intends to improve the game's quality based on user feedback gathered during a closed beta test conducted in October.
Krafton is also expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) technology development. Last month, the company unveiled its self-developed large language model (LLM), Raon-1 mini Preview, which enhances Korean processing performance, response speed, and inference efficiency, with plans to utilize it for game-specific AI services.
Krafton aims to expand the AI technology acquired from gaming into new business areas. This includes enhancing the performance of the AI companion system, PUBG Eli, and developing a full-duplex voice model that supports bidirectional real-time conversation based on the large model Raon-1.
Additionally, Krafton plans to repurchase 300 billion won worth of its own shares in Q4 and retire them entirely. The decision was made by the board on November 3, based on the assessment that the current stock price does not adequately reflect the company's value.
As of Q3, Krafton had repurchased approximately 400 billion won worth of its own shares and conducted a 99.6 billion won reduction in dividends. The total amount of repurchased shares, including the newly acquired shares and the existing holdings of 117.7 billion won, reached 517.6 billion won, accounting for 4.4% of the total issued shares. The total shareholder return for the year, including the additional repurchase and retirement in Q4, is expected to reach 917.2 billion won, marking the largest annual return since the start of shareholder returns in 2023.
In August, Krafton participated in Gamescom 2026, the world's largest gaming exhibition held in Cologne, Germany, showcasing five new titles. The company introduced new IPs, including a new PUBG title, No Law, Project Zeta, Age Twister, and Tangle: Unbound, with Age Twister and Tangle: Unbound being demonstrated for the first time to the general public at the event.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.