Netmarble to Release 13 New Titles Next Year, Seeks to Improve Profitability... Revises Multiplatform Strategy (Comprehensive)

Third-quarter revenue and operating profit decline year over year
"Changes to Google's app market fees will reduce costs"

Netmarble, which reported weak third-quarter results due to delays in new game launches, announced plans to release 13 new titles next year, signaling its determination to improve profitability.

Netmarble headquarters in Guro-gu, Seoul. Reporter Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

Netmarble said on November 5 that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was tentatively tallied at 50.4 billion won, down 44.6% from a year earlier. Revenue was 634.7 billion won and net profit was 22.2 billion won, down 8.8% and 45.3%, respectively, over the same period. Compared with the second quarter, which included launch revenue from "SOL: Enchant," revenue fell 15.3% and operating profit declined 37.1%.

Among individual games, "SOL: Enchant," "MARVEL Contest of Champions" and "Lotsa Slots" each contributed the largest share of revenue, at 8%. "Jackpot World," "Cash Frenzy" and "RF Online Next" each accounted for 7%. By region, North America had the largest revenue share at 40%, followed by Korea at 25%, Europe at 12%, Southeast Asia at 10% and Japan at 8%. Overseas revenue accounted for 75% of the total, down 3 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Netmarble forecast that its results would recover next year, when it plans to release 13 new titles. At a conference call, Netmarble Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Do Giwook said, "The entire second-half lineup has been pushed back to next year, so revenue in the fourth quarter will not change much. On the cost side, things could improve compared with the third quarter."

The company expects higher PC payment shares and lower payment processing fees following changes to Google's fee policies to contribute to improved profitability. Netmarble CEO Kim Byunggyu said, "We are trying to apply Google's fee reduction program, the 'Level Up Program,' to as many games as possible. We will also keep the share of payment processing fees in the low 30% range next year."

Major new titles scheduled for release next year include "Shangri-La Frontier: The Seven Strongest Species," "Solo Leveling: KARMA," "WB All Star Raising (Project Aegis)," "Guardian Tales: Dig Dot (Project Octopus)," "Pearl in Blue" and "Evilbane." At this earnings announcement, the company also unveiled "Wilderings," "Babel Protocol," "Project D," "Project X," "Project C," "Dark Priest" and "Project M." Netmarble plans to publish 10 of the titles itself and release the remaining three through its overseas subsidiaries.

Asked whether it was possible to release more than 10 new titles in a single year, CEO Kim said, "We believe it is possible, as we have been building an AI-native work environment." However, the company is changing course on its multiplatform strategy. "Based on the performance of the games we released this year, we learned that pursuing multiple platforms simultaneously could do more harm than good," he said. "We will adopt a strategy of choosing and focusing on the platforms where each game has the greatest potential to succeed."

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