Kakao Games Posts Losses for Eighth Straight Quarter, Seeks Turnaround with New Releases

Q3 revenue of KRW 69.1 billion, operating loss of KRW 26.3 billion
Eyes turnaround on performance of "World of Dokkaebi"
"Will continue business restructuring and strategic investments"

Kakao Games has posted operating losses for eight consecutive quarters amid a lack of new releases and declining sales of existing titles.

Kakao Games said on November 4 that it recorded consolidated revenue of KRW 69.1 billion and an operating loss of KRW 26.3 billion in the third quarter of this year. Revenue fell 46% from a year earlier, while the operating loss widened.

By business segment, revenue from PC online games totaled KRW 18.5 billion, down 57% from a year earlier. Mobile game revenue fell 40% over the same period to KRW 50.6 billion.

Kakao Games expects to turn around starting in the fourth quarter, driven by the performance of "Dokkaebi-ui Segye." Since its release last month, "Dokkaebi-ui Segye" has held a top position after reaching No. 1 in Google Play's sales rankings just five days after launch. Its strengths include a player-friendly monetization structure, 2.5D pixel art with a distinctly Korean traditional feel, a compelling story based on the intellectual property (IP) of the popular webtoon "Myeolgwi Sudojeon," and swift communication with players. Kakao Games has also begun preparations for a global launch.

The action-slash PC online game "Path of Exile 2" will also be officially released on December 12. The company is stepping up preparations for the launch of the blockbuster massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) "Odin Q: Valkyrie Call" in January next year. Building on the success of the original "Odin" and the development capabilities of Lionheart Studio, "Odin Q" is set to offer distinctive quarter-view combat and large-scale competitive content. The company is preparing for a simultaneous launch in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

In addition, the company plans to expand its IP portfolio with titles across a range of genres, including the open-world zombie survival simulator "God Save Birmingham"; the blockbuster PC MMORPG "ArcheAge S: Strait of Freedom"; and the pixel-art collectible action RPG "Guardian Maiden."

Meanwhile, under its new management system, Kakao Games is pursuing business structure optimization, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and strategic investments for medium- to long-term growth, as well as deals for new titles. Following its acquisition of global casual game company Me2on and a strategic investment in artificial intelligence (AI) backend technology company BackendX over the past three months, Kakao Games will continue to identify promising developers and technology companies.

CEO Lee Siwoo said, "By targeting diverse player groups with clear points of differentiation for each IP, we are once again demonstrating our core competitiveness, backed by a solid portfolio. We will pursue new releases, shareholder returns and investments to secure new growth opportunities, and do our utmost to turn these efforts into a meaningful rebound."

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