Wemade achieved record-high sales for four consecutive years last year, exceeding market expectations. Wemade announced it will release various new games this year, including the highly anticipated 'Legend of Imir,' and will expand the WEMIX ecosystem to further solidify its growth foundation.
Kim Sang-won, executive director at Wemade, said during the 2024 fourth-quarter earnings conference call on the 12th, "2024 will be a year to solidify our foundation and establish the groundwork for sustainable growth through management efficiency, proving differentiated high growth by setting a new record for highest sales for four consecutive years." He added, "This year, starting with the launch of 'Legend of Imir,' we plan to sequentially introduce more than 20 diverse new titles while continuously pursuing business expansion and genre innovation."
Wemade recorded sales of 712 billion won, an operating profit of 8.1 billion won, and a net profit of 86.9 billion won last year. Compared to the previous year, sales increased by 18%, while both operating profit and net profit turned to profit. The annual sales have broken new records for four consecutive years since 2021. In the last quarter, sales reached 165 billion won, a 42% increase from the same period the previous year. During the same period, operating profit was 18.1 billion won, and net profit was 109.6 billion won, also turning to profit.
The global performance of its primary intellectual property (IP) 'Knight Crow' drove Wemade's results. This game surpassed 500 billion won in cumulative sales, and overseas sales recorded 501.6 billion won, an 81% increase compared to the previous year. Kim noted, "Knight Crow Global has maintained an average peak of 300,000 concurrent users per day stably since its launch about a year ago, continuing successful service," and stated, "This achievement proves once again that the fusion of games and blockchain can create greater synergy, following 'MIR4 Global.'"
Wemade aims to establish this year as the beginning of long-term growth, continuing to grow through diversification of new titles and expansion of blockchain businesses. Wemade is scheduled to release the anticipated title 'Legend of Imir' on the 20th. After that, it plans to sequentially launch more than 20 various new games, such as the multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'MIR5,' the first-person shooting game (FPS) 'This Means War,' and the extraction shooter 'Midnight Walkers.'
Kim explained, "'Legend of Imir' is the culmination of game development know-how accumulated over a long period and the grammar of blockchain games," adding that it will provide an innovative gaming experience through high immersion and a differentiated economic system that transcends the limitations of domestic MMORPGs.
The Chinese version of 'MIR M' is set to be released in the third quarter. Kim stated, "The timing for the launch of 'MIR M' in China has been concretized for the third quarter, and it will be released without additional delays in the third quarter," and added, "The publisher, The Nine, anticipates annual sales of 380 billion won following the launch of 'MIR M,' and if we can achieve this level of performance, it will be a satisfying result."
Additionally, Wemade plans to expand its blockchain ecosystem focusing on WEMIX Play and WeePublic. Kim noted, "Last year, we enhanced community features and improved user convenience through the launch of the mobile application for WeePublic and the overhaul of the WEMIX Play website," and stated, "This year, we plan to present innovative projects for business activation and actively secure competitiveness."
Kim emphasized, "WEMIX Play is important for establishing and growing the platform by methodically creating solid success cases, such as those of 'MIR4' and 'Knight Crow.'" He added, "Rather than showing many productions, this will be a year focused on successfully onboarding excellent games that can create solid success cases."