The MapleStory franchise experienced a 72% increase in revenue for the third quarter, contributing to the overall growth of Nexon

Image credit: Nexon

The third quarter brought an impressive performance for Nexon, with all metrics surpassing the company's expectations.

The driving force behind these results was its key franchises: MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter, and FC, which together generated ¥108.5 billion (approximately $678.4 million) in revenue, marking a 24% increase from the previous year.

Financial Overview

• Total Revenue: ¥138.4 billion (around $865.4 million), a rise of 17% compared to the same period last year
• Operating Profit: ¥41.8 billion (close to $261.3 million), showing an 11% growth year-on-year
• Net Profit: ¥38.1 billion (approximately $238.2 million), remaining level with the past year

Key Insights

The operating income saw a boost due to increased royalties from titles like FC Online and MapleStory: Idle RPG, although this gain was "more than offset by reduced marketing, HR, and cloud expenses."

The MapleStory series saw a remarkable 72% surge in revenue year-over-year, setting a new high for quarterly earnings and playing a crucial role in Nexon's total revenue growth.

The FC series achieved solid growth in double digits. In contrast, revenues from Dungeon & Fighter dropped by 33%, attributed to "underwhelming outcomes from the September National Day updates in China."

Embark Studios' Arc Raiders has reached over 17 million sales. Furthermore, the recently launched Frozen Trail update has successfully revived interest from former players, boosting sales.

Nexon introduced Project Overkill, a fresh online RPG within the Dungeon & Fighter universe, developed by Neople and set to be published by Tencent.

As part of Nexon's transformation strategy introduced earlier in the year, six projects were halted, redirecting "resources and teams to projects with higher commercial prospects."

The company is advancing AI integration across development, localization, and code review. This is intended to free up developers, allowing them to focus on creativity and innovation.

"We intend to build more ambitious and higher-quality games without increasing team sizes or reducing costs," the company emphasized. "Nexon's creations are the result of human effort, which will remain unchanged."

"Our approach to expanding intellectual properties is proving effective," stated Junghun Lee, President and CEO of Nexon.

"Revenue growth from established brands like MapleStory and the resurgence of FC, combined with new offerings like Arc Raiders, enhances our core operations and lessens reliance on any single brand or market."

"Moreover, this quarter underlines the positive effect of our transformation strategy on resource allocation for developing commercially promising games," he added.