PUBG publisher Krafton generated a record-breaking ₩665.9 billion ($487.7 million) in revenue during Q1 2024, making it the most successful quarter in the company’s history.
This was driven primarily by the growth of PUBG on mobile, PC and console, bolstering operating profit to ₩310.5 billion ($227.4 million). This marks an 89% rise quarter-on-quarter and a 10% rise year-over-year.
The lion’s share
Mobile has continued to dominate Krafton’s earnings in the first quarter of 2024, contributing 60% of the publisher’s total revenue, or ₩402.3 billion ($294.6 million). PC earnings came second at ₩243.7 billion ($178.5 million), while console generated only ₩11.5 billion ($8.4 million).
While mobile took the lion’s share of revenue, it had the slowest growth of the three platforms. PC and console saw revenue increase by 36.5% and 58.5%, respectively, while mobile earnings rose by 15.5%.
Mobile’s 60% contribution to Krafton’s quartler earnings marked a drop from making up 64% of sales in Q4 2023.
India ambitions
After this successful start to 2024 with a 52.4% net profit margin, Krafton also revealed some of its future plans and reaffirmed its ambitions to become India’s top games publisher.
It highlighted titles such as Cookie Run and Bullet Echo India as two key games fit for the Indian market this year. Bullet Echo India released on April 15th, while Cookie Run maintains a 2024 launch window. In Q1, Krafton also unveiled a new India-themed mobile game named Garuda Saga, developed in collaboration with South Korean game development studio Alchemist Games.
As Krafton looks to grow its operations, it has also been busy with M&A activity. The publisher has made nine game studio investments this year, all expected to be completed within the first half of 2024. C77 Entertainment and startup Red Rover are among those invested in so far.
