Krafton's revenue broke through 3 trillion won last year, joining the "3 trillion club" for the first time since its founding. Powered by the solid performance of its flagship intellectual property (IP), "PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS," revenue hit a record high. Operating profit, however, fell more than 10% from a year earlier as expanded investment and expenses related to the Seongsu headquarters were reflected.
Krafton said on Feb. 9 that last year's revenue on a consolidation basis rose 22.8% on-year to 3.3266 trillion won. Operating profit came to 1.0544 trillion won, down 10.8% over the same period.
By business segment, revenue was 1.1846 trillion won for PC, 1.7407 trillion won for mobile, 42.8 billion won for console, and 358.5 billion won for other.
The PC platform posted its highest annual revenue, led by a 16% year-over-year growth of the Battlegrounds IP. The company said collaborations with luxury car brand Porsche and others delivered results, boosting traffic. In addition, inZOI, released in Mar., and the new title MIMESIS, unveiled in Oct., each sold more than 1 million copies, contributing to revenue growth.
In the mobile segment, Battlegrounds Mobile steadily expanded its fan base through the introduction of new theme modes and updates. "Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)," serviced in India, maintained stable growth with India-only skins, customized items, and collaborations with well-known local brands. In fact, paying users of Battlegrounds Mobile and BGMI last year increased 5% and 27%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Other revenue jumped 963% compared with 2024 due to the consolidation of results from ADK Group (hereafter ADK), a Japanese general advertising company acquired in June last year, and Neptune.
Fourth-quarter revenue came to 919.7 billion won, up 48.9% from a year earlier. Operating profit for the same period plunged 98.9% to 2.4 billion won. Net loss was 22.7 billion won. A Krafton representative said, "One-off expenses were reflected at once, including grants of 81.6 billion won to the joint labor welfare fund as resources to be used over the next four years in preparation for the transfer to the Seongsu headquarters."
Krafton said it will focus this year on expanding franchise IPs with long product life cycles (PLCs) and on AI-based innovation, centered on its core business of games. The Battlegrounds franchise aims for double-digit growth by continuing collaborations with well-known brands and evolving to the next stage through an upgrade to Unreal Engine 5 and updates for UGC (user-generated content).
The company said, "We will also continue to diversify genres and platforms spanning generations and regions through new titles based on the Battlegrounds IP." It cited the extraction shooter genre "Black Budget," the new shooter "PUBG: BLINDSPOT," and the battle royale console game "Valor" as major new PUBG-based IPs.
Based on the mid- to long-term goal of securing a "big franchise IP," Krafton plans to further seek large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and pursue small- and mid-sized M&A to acquire high-potential IPs and build their value. It will also make strategic equity investments in teams with projects nearing release and proven development capabilities.
Earlier, to strengthen its in-house production capabilities, Krafton recruited 15 key production leaders over the past year and expanded its development studios from 16 to 19. A Krafton representative said, "We are currently running a pipeline of 26 new titles and aim to launch 12 new titles over the next two years."
New titles slated for release this year include "Subnautica 2," "Palworld Mobile," "Dinkum Together," and "NO LAW."
In addition, building on the capabilities accumulated in gaming, Krafton plans to pursue "AI for Game," which provides new play experiences using in-game AI, and, in the mid- to long-term, will gradually consider expansion into the physical AI field. With ADK, it will accelerate IP diversification by linking games and animation and improve marketing efficiency in the Japanese market. It will also leverage Neptune's ad technology to expand its influence in the Indian market and roll out India-specific advertising businesses using traffic from core games such as BGMI.
In addition, it will deploy the largest-ever amount for shareholder returns. Krafton announced that, under a policy approved by the board that day, it will use more than 1 trillion won over the next three years for cash dividends and the acquisition and cancellation of treasury shares. That is more than 44% higher than the existing shareholder return scale of 693 billion won for 2023–2025.
For the first time since its founding, Krafton will introduce cash dividends, paying out 100 billion won each year for three years, totaling 300 billion won. The cash dividend will be conducted in a reduced-dividend format that imposes no tax burden on small shareholders. The size of the treasury share acquisition will be at least 700 billion won. Excluding cash dividends, Krafton will use all shareholder return funds to buy back its own shares and will cancel all acquired shares to enhance shareholder value. Depending on market conditions and financial circumstances, it is also leaving open the possibility of further expanding the return scale.
Chief Executive Kim Chang-han of Krafton said, "This shareholder return policy reflects Krafton's strong commitment to enhancing shareholder value," adding, "While we continue differentiated game development and strategic investment on the global stage, we will also conduct shareholder returns based on our cash holdings and stable cash-generating power to enhance sustainable corporate value."