KRAFTON reports record revenue for first half of 2024

That’s a big chicken dinner

KRAFTON

KRAFTON, the South Korean developer and publisher behind titles like PUBG: Battlegrounds and its various mobile versions, posted record sales and operating profits in the first half of the ongoing year in its latest earnings report.

The company reported a revenue of ₩1.3729 trillion KRW, corresponding to a little over $1 billion USD – an increase of 48.3% year-on-year. Operating profits shot up by an even more impressive 55% year-on-year to ₩642.6 billion KRW or $470.3 million USD.

Q1 contributed most to the strong six-month period, but it’s worth noting that KRAFTON’s mobile revenue actually grew in Q2 compared to the previous quarter despite everything else having the usual Q2 dip.

KRAFTON explained the growth with the strong performance of PUBG in all its variations. In the report, the company revealed that PUBG’s monthly active users on PC and consoles have gone up by around 40% compared to last year with users making in-game purchases having doubled in number – well, more than doubled: This important metric grew by 130%. It looks like the dev’s various in-game collaborations with popular brands are a chicken dinner winner.

PUBG Mobile’s numbers increased more moderately with a 30% boost to daily active users and a 40% increase in paying users – but with how big the player base on mobile devices already is, the effects of these growth spurts are easy to see when looking at the overall revenue.

Aside from continuing its successful formula with PUBG, KRAFTON has two brand-new games planned for the second half of 2024: Dark and Darker Mobile, an extraction RPG, and its life sim inZOI.

The South Korean company just recently announced the acquisition of Tango Gameworks, the developer of Hi-Fi Rush that had been shut down by Microsoft earlier this year in a shock move. Tango is KRAFTON’s first studio in Japan, marking the next step in its expansion plan, and the purchase of the Hi-Fi Rush IP neatly fits into the company’s ambitions to secure more valuable properties for itself.

Aside from acquiring or creating new IP to add to the company’s value, the PUBG IP is at the center of all growth plans – KRAFTON aims to develop “new PUBG IP games in various genres and platforms” that have “synergy with [the] core product” and can “expand to global fans” with “new generations and under-teen audiences” being especially valued targets.