Krafton Records Over 1 Trillion Won in Q2 Sales... Sets New All-Time High for First-Half Results

First-Half Operating Profit Reaches 92% of Last Year’s Annual Total
“Subnautica 2” Success Drives Growth…PUBG Collaboration and UGC Expansion
Additional Acquisition and Retirement of Treasury Shares Worth 100 Billion Won Planned for Q3

Krafton announced on July 29 that it recorded provisional consolidated sales of 2.6616 trillion won and operating profit of 972.5 billion won for the first half of this year, setting a new all-time high for a half-year period.

Provided by Krafton

Sales increased by 73.3% year-on-year, while operating profit rose by 38.3%. Notably, the operating profit for the first half alone amounts to 92% of last year’s total annual figure. Focusing on the second quarter, sales reached 1.2902 trillion won and operating profit came in at 410.9 billion won—representing the best performance for the same period on record.

Krafton explained that its strong performance was driven by a 25% year-on-year increase in first-half sales from the PUBG intellectual property (IP) franchise, coupled with the success of “Subnautica 2.” Released in early access last May, “Subnautica 2” surpassed 5 million copies sold in just 22 days. First-half sales from the “Subnautica” IP totaled 232.5 billion won.

By business segment, first-half sales were led by mobile at 1.1537 trillion won, followed by PC at 924.2 billion won, others at 546 billion won, and console at 37.7 billion won. Krafton pointed out that PC platform sales exceeded 500 billion won for the first time, thanks to not only “PUBG: Battlegrounds” but also titles like “Eve Contender” (in collaboration with Stellar Blade), “Black Market,” and “Subnautica 2,” all of which received strong responses. The console platform also benefited from the popularity of “Subnautica 2,” with second-quarter console sales climbing 143% year-on-year.

Krafton plans to continue expanding the collaboration scope of the PUBG IP franchise beyond automotive and K-pop into global animation, as well as to keep introducing high-quality game modes. The company previously confirmed, through new modes like Xenopoint and Payday which provided novel gameplay experiences on PC, that content competitiveness can drive user engagement and sales growth.

On mobile, Krafton will further extend the user-generated content (UGC) ecosystem it has already established. Since the launch of “World of Wonder” for PUBG Mobile in 2023, creative mapmaking and player participation have seen a steady increase. Krafton aims to enhance creative tools and broaden UGC offerings by leveraging global IPs such as Naruto and Spider-Man. The newly introduced in-game currency, WoW Token, will provide more opportunities for in-app purchases and creator rewards. This is expected to establish a virtuous cycle, where more creators lead to an increase in both content and gameplay.

The “Subnautica” IP will also be developed into a franchise. For now, “Subnautica 2” has received a “Very Positive” rating on Steam and has ranked among the top global sellers for titles released this year. Krafton will maintain stable service for the title until its official launch. Five new titles targeting release by next year will be revealed next month at Gamescom 2026 in Germany, the world’s largest gaming expo. New PUBG IP-based projects will be introduced for the first time, along with “NO LAW,” “Project Zeta,” “Age Twister,” and “Tara: Unbound,” to begin full-scale market validation of the next-generation franchise IPs.

Additionally, in the first half of this year, Krafton acquired treasury shares worth 300 billion won and completed cancellation dividends totaling 99.6 billion won. The company retired a combined 336.2 billion won in treasury shares, including newly acquired and previously held amounts, and has decided to cancel treasury shares acquired in the second quarter as well. The total scale of treasury share retirements is 431.5 billion won. Furthermore, Krafton plans to acquire an additional 100 billion won in treasury shares in the third quarter and subsequently retire the entire amount. The company reaffirmed its commitment to faithfully implementing shareholder return policies based on a strong drive to enhance shareholder value.

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