The parent company of PUBG has recently published its 2022 and 4Q22 preliminary earnings, they look promising. Its CEO CH Kim announced its 2022 and 4Q22 preliminary earnings on February 7 and held a conference call on February 8.
KRAFTON recorded 2022 sales of KRW1,854B, OP of KRW751.6B and NP of KRW500.2B in accordance with the Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS). Total sales retreated slightly YoY, but annual OP grew 16% YoY to achieve an OPM of 41%. 4Q22 sales landed at KRW473.8B, up 7% YoY, and OP reached KRW126.2B, up 179% YoY.
In 2022, KRAFTON solidly operated its core gaming operations and engaged in full-blown efforts to push forward in the global AAA console market. Owing to this, PC and console sales grew 17% and 430% YoY to KRW465B and KRW104.1B, respectively, with combined sales growing significantly to account for 31% of total sales. The increasing contribution of PC and console sales is attributed to the continued growth demonstrated by PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, securing approx. 45M new users after the transition to free-to-play, and the release of The Callisto Protocol in 4Q22.
Annual mobile sales reached KRW1,252.8B. Although it dropped 12% YoY, KRAFTON attracted more paying users and defended its top spot among mobile battle royale games with new mode updates, small map releases and more collaborations. KRAFTON solidified its position as a global game company with overseas sales accounting for 94% of total sales.
Along with the earnings release, KRAFTON proposed strengthening publishing and production capabilities as the two points of direction for 2023. Backed by its experience gained from launching an AAA game in the global market in 2022, the company plans to focus on game development and publishing to secure a continuous game lineup. To discover a new IP, KRAFTON will open KRAFTON Montréal Studio, a new studio in Montreal, Canada.
KRAFTON Montréal Studio will step up the game development of The Bird That Drinks Tears, led by a prominent figure in the gaming industry, Patrik Méthé, Head of the Studio. KRAFTON also unveiled its major game pipelines including ▲ Project BlackBudget ▲ Project GoldRush and ▲ The Next Subnautica.
Moreover, KRAFTON emphasized its plans to continue investment in deep learning, as a new key business, and sustain game-led expansion. KRAFTON is currently engaged in deep learning projects in four major areas, striving to discover new gameplay based on deep learning and launch the early version of Virtual Game Friend in 2023. Using game production technology, KRAFTON is also preparing a mobile-oriented open-world virtual platform service, planning to test it in the first half of the year and officially release it within this year. With this opportunity, it will start activating a create-to-earn (C2E) ecosystem that connects creators and brands.
KRAFTON’s CEO CH Kim said, “In 2022, the company internally solidified production and servicing capabilities while making new attempts in the global market”. He added, “Building on the experience gained in 2022, we will create more opportunities to showcase a lineup featuring strong gameplay and focus on reinforcing efficiency in 2023.”
| Earnings(4Q22) | Earnings(3Q22) | % chg (QoQ) | Earnings(4Q21) | % chg (YoY) | |
| Sales | 4,738 | 4,337 | 9.2% | 4,435 | 6.8% |
| OP | 1,262 | 1,446 | -12.8% | 452 | 178.8% |
▲Table: KRAFTON’s 4Q22 (preliminary) earnings on a consolidated basis (unit: KRW100M)
| Earnings(2022) | Earnings(2021) | % chg (YoY) | |
| Sales | 18,540 | 18,854 | -1.7% |
| OP | 7,516 | 6,506 | 15.5% |
▲Table: KRAFTON’s 2022 (preliminary) earnings on a consolidated basis (unit: KRW100M)
