On February 6, the Korean gaming giant Netmarble published a report for the fourth quarter of 2017. It ended very well for the company. She earned $565 million. The commercial success of Lineage 2: Revolution played a big role in this. It accounted for 39% of the company’s revenue.
The online role-playing game Lineage 2: Revolution was released at the end of 2016. According to the results of the first month of sales, it entered the top ten most earning mobile games in the world. To do this, it was enough for her to be released exclusively in her native market – in South Korea. A year later, the game is still in the top ten.
The titles of the western divisions of Netmarble earn significantly less money on the scale of the company. The mobile fighting game Marvel Contest of Champions and three-in-a-row Cookie Jam accounted for 14% and 6% of revenue in the last quarter Netmarble accordingly. The remaining projects of the Korean publisher, including Tera M launched in November in South Korea, generate no more than 5%.
Revenue segmentation Netmarble by Products
Despite high revenues and their good dynamics (plus 33%), Netmarble’s profit is falling (minus 32.9%).
The company explains this by the growth of operating expenses. In particular, marketing expenses have increased significantly due to the worldwide release of Lineage 2 Revolution. You should also take into account the high commissions that the company pays for the use of franchises. For example, Netmarble makes NC Soft payments for the Lineage name. In total, the company gave $262 million to various partners as commissions for three months.
Today, Netmarble is one of the central players in the South Korean industry. In addition to Kabam acquired for $500 million and Jam City management package purchased for $130 million, it owns 11 Korean gaming firms and 7 offices abroad. The company was founded in 2000 by then-future dollar billionaire Bang Jun-huk. He raised $88 thousand for its launch.
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