82% of South Korean gaming companies earn less than $87 thousand a year

Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) reported that the turnover of the South Korean gaming market in 2015 reached $9.3 billion and should exceed $9.5 billion by the end of 2016.

However, most developers in South Korea are struggling to survive. The incomes of large companies and small studios vary greatly.

According to the survey, the annual income of 82% of Korean studios does not exceed $86,964. At the same time, the leading companies of the gaming industry in South Korea, such as Nexon, Netmarble Games and NCsoft earned 35% of the total revenue of the gaming market in 2015.

The revenue distribution of the Top 10 Korean gaming companies for 2016 looks like this:

1. Nexon – $1.61 billion
2. Netmarble Games – $1.3 billion
3. NCsoft – $855 million
4. NHN Entertainment – $561 million
5. Smilegate – $522 million
6. Com2us – $377 million
7. Gamevil – $132 million
8. 4:33 – $100 million
9. Sundaytoz – $69.3 million
10. Dev Sisters – $16.96 million

Despite the financial difficulties of the vast majority of Korean developers, the market as a whole has been growing for several years: by 0.3% in 2013, 2.6% in 2014 and 7.5% in 2015.

Source: Pocket Gamer