While EA and Activision-Blizzard reported truly meh first quarter 2019 earnings, Nexon was out there making the case for why somebody ought to pay its owners’ $9B asking price in a buyout.
The Korean gaming giant reported a quarterly revenue of ¥93.1 billion, which is up 3% since first quarter last year. Nexon attributes the record quarter to the “stronger-than-expected performances of Dungeon&Fighter in China, MapleStory, FIFA ONLINE 41, and new mobile game Lyn: The Lightbringer in Korea.” It’s also twice as much as the company pulled in over Q4 2018. (This seemed so absurd at first that I ran the numbers multiple times, but there it is: Q4 2018 revenue was only ¥46 billion.)
But as we reported back in February, Nexon has been shifting heavily to mobile MMOs, especially in the west, in spite of the fact that over 80% of its income comes from PC games, which is unlikely to make our particular audience happy. The company expects 2019 will be another record revenue year across the board – even for its North America and European sectors, where it’s planning to launch OVERHIT, Magia, SINoALICE, and Durango: Wild Lands.
