Krafton has reported its highest-ever second-quarter results, with revenue up 94.9% year on year to 1.29 trillion won, or about $889.1 million, and operating profit up 67% to 410.9 billion won, roughly $283.1 million. The company attributed the growth to the launch of Subnautica 2 and continued expansion of the PUBG franchise.
Subnautica 2 entered early access in May and passed five million units sold within 22 days. First-half revenue for the Subnautica IP, which also covers the original game and Subnautica: Below Zero, reached 232.5 billion won, about $160.2 million. PUBG revenue rose 25% year on year.
Those two franchises drove PC revenue past 500 billion won, around $344.4 million, for the first time. Console revenue rose 143.3% year on year to 23.8 billion won, about $16.3 million, while mobile revenue rose 5.5% to 451 billion won, roughly $310.7 million.
A second franchise IP after PUBG
Speaking to investors, Krafton head of investor relations Sophie Lee said the early access performance confirms the game can become the company's second franchise IP alongside PUBG, and that Krafton plans to "scale up the Subnautica IP with a long-term perspective" while prioritising community trust and stable service through to full launch.
Chief executive Changhan Kim said around half of Subnautica 2's players had not played either the original Subnautica or Below Zero, an influx he attributed in part to the sequel's co-op mode — a feature that drew criticism from returning players before release, who worried it would divert attention from the solo game.
In particular, [Subnautica 2's] co-op content confirmed the potential to expand beyond the existing fan base to new user groups. This stems from our success in identifying an IP with a strong genre moat and scaling it up by expanding co-op and content volume while preserving the core gameplay of the original.
The quarter was not straightforwardly profitable. Krafton settled its dispute with Unknown Worlds' former leadership near the end of the period and agreed to pay the contested $250 million earnout. Set against the acquisition cost and that payment, the company posted a net loss of 29.9 billion won for the quarter despite the record operating profit.
Krafton said it will announce five new titles at Gamescom next month, all scheduled to release by 2027: a new project built on the PUBG IP, plus No Law, Project Zeta, Age Twisters and Tarae: The Unbound. The company said earlier this year that it had 26 games in development, 12 of them due within two years.
We will remain focused on Krafton's core gaming business as we begin to move into the execution phase of producing new titles. While expanding the PUBG IP franchise as a content platform, we will begin to create franchise IPs via our new title pipeline and creative leadership.
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