Kakao Games has slipped into the red this third quarter. It seems the prolonged drought of new releases, which began back in Q1, has finally taken its toll on the bottom line.

On the 5th, Kakao Games revealed its financial results for the third quarter of 2025 under K-IFRS. Revenue for the quarter rose by roughly 10% compared to the previous quarter, yet it still settled at 127.5 billion won—a 22% drop compared to the same period last year. The firm reported an operating loss of approximately 500 million won, marking a swing into the red year-on-year, though net profit did manage a positive turnaround at 34.6 billion won.

PC online gaming revenue hit 42.7 billion won, a 25% year-on-year increase, largely thanks to a massive collaboration for PUBG. Conversely, the mobile segment faltered, falling 34% year-on-year to 84.8 billion won. While Odin: Valhalla Rising maintained steady ground with its 4th-anniversary update in Korea, the global service and revenue from ArcheAge War both saw a decline.

To make matters worse, the new release pipeline this year was sparse, limited to titles like Goddess Order. Even then, the situation turned grim when the developer cited financial distress and halted updates. Kakao Games has since announced full refunds for all paid items in Goddess Order, regardless of usage or timeframe. In short, with new titles scarce, the few that did launch failed to deliver the expected revenue.

To sharpen its focus on its core 'gaming' business and secure financial stability, Kakao Games has recently undergone a structural overhaul of its non-core operations. The plan now is to leverage this foundation to pour resources into developing diverse content, aiming to expand its lineup across various platforms, genres, and regions.

▲ The company is focusing its efforts on a distinct range of projects: a casual game using idol IP called 'SM Game Station (tentative name)', large-scale MMORPGs 'Project Q' and 'Project OQ', the subculture RPG 'Project C', the medieval zombie title 'God Save Birmingham', and the major open-world PC/console titles 'ArcheAge Chronicles' and 'Chrono Odyssey'.

Kakao Games CEO Han Sang-woo stated, "We are building a foundation to secure growth momentum that will allow us to focus on strengthening our global competitiveness," adding, "Based on the structural improvements made thus far, we will do our best to ensure our core business gains real traction."