KRAFTON has once again broken its first-quarter earnings record, buoyed by the strong performance of its popular intellectual property (IP) 'PUBG: Battlegrounds' (hereafter PUBG) and the initial success of its new title 'inZOI'. KRAFTON plans to continue its growth this year by expanding the PUBG franchise and discovering new IPs.
Baek Dong-geun, KRAFTON's chief financial officer (CFO), noted during the conference call on the 29th that "In the first quarter of 2025, KRAFTON recorded the largest quarterly revenue and operating profit in its history, based on the continuous growth of the PUBG IP," adding that "We are executing content operations and live services meticulously under a clear long-term service direction for the PUBG IP franchise, and inZOI achieved over 1 million sales within just seven days of its launch, demonstrating its potential for long-term service as a new IP."
KRAFTON recorded 874.2 billion won in revenue and 457.3 billion won in operating profit for the first quarter. This represents a respective increase of 31.3% and 47.3% compared to the same period last year. By platform, revenue from PC increased by 32.8% year-on-year to 323.5 billion won, while mobile revenue grew by 32.3% year-on-year to 532.4 billion won. Console revenue reached 13.1 billion won, marking a 14.2% increase year-on-year, indicating growth across all institutional sectors.
Jang Tae-seok, the PUBG PD, stated regarding the factors behind the PUBG IP's upward trend and sustainability, "New and returning users have continued to increase in 2023, which is due to the tendency to keep playing games they enjoy," and added, "In particular, new and returning users have greatly contributed to traffic growth, and retention rates are being recorded quite high."
Since it became free-to-play, PUBG surpassed 1.4 million concurrent users in March. KRAFTON plans to enhance user experience through content upgrades, including collaborations with artists and brands, and the implementation of new map modes. The company also aims to evolve PUBG into a 'PUBG 2.0' gameplay platform by transitioning to realistic graphics based on Unreal Engine 5 and introducing user-generated content (UGC).
KRAFTON announced that its newly launched game inZOI, released in early access on the 28th of last month, sold over 1 million copies within a week of its launch, setting the fastest sales record among all its IPs. Notably, about 95% of total sales occurred overseas, further proving the global box office potential of KRAFTON's original IP following PUBG.
Regarding the initial success of inZOI, Baek, the CFO, stated, "The fact that inZOI sold over 1 million copies right from the early access phase is a landmark achievement," and noted, "Last year, about 20,000 games were released on Steam, but the number of new IPs that sold over 1 million copies is less than 10." He continued, "inZOI is a single-player game," emphasizing that focusing on how many packages are sold during significant updates is crucial to accurately understanding inZOI's success.
KRAFTON announced its plans to actively pursue new game development for the expansion of the PUBG IP franchise. Currently, KRAFTON is developing three new titles: ▲ Extraction shooting 'Project Black Budget' ▲ Console battle royale 'Project Valor' ▲ Top-down tactical shooting 'PUBG: Blindspot'. Jang, the PD, mentioned, "In addition, we are preparing new console and mobile titles aimed at new generations in Western and emerging markets," stating that they are strategizing to expand the base of the PUBG IP and secure new fans through these new developments.
Additionally, KRAFTON announced that it will release 'Subnautica 2' in the second half of this year. Baek, the CFO, stated, "Subnautica 2 is expected to be launched in early access on PC and console platforms in the second half of this year," and added, "Since the previous installment sold approximately 8 million copies, it is true that there are considerable expectations." He further stated, "Our goal is to complete the game with fans, launching it in early access like inZOI without forcing popularity through marketing investments." Additionally, he noted, "We aim to continue our 'snowballing' strategy to grow alongside the user community."