Kakao Games swings to loss in Q2

Kakao Games Corp., the gaming unit of South Korean social media giant Kakao Corp., said Wednesday it swung to a net loss in the second quarter. The company posted a net loss of 11.7 billion won (US$8.5 million) in the April-June period, compared with a net profit of 8.7 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating profit plunged 89 percent on-year to 2.8 billion won, and its sales dropped 13.1 percent to 235.6 billion won. The company said its revenue from mobile games decreased 21.8 percent on-year to 134.5 billion won due to an absence of new game titles and declining popularity of its existing games. Sales from PC games, however, increased 4.8 percent to 16.3 billion won on a collaboration event with the smash hit battle royale shooter PUBG: Battlegrounds, developed by Krafton Inc. Kakao Games said it plans to release new game titles in various genres starting in the second half, including early access for the action role-playing game Path of Exile 2 and the real-tim e strategy game Stormgate. By 2026, the company also plans to launch blockbuster titles, including Chrono Odyssey and ArcheAge 2. Source: Yonhap News Agency