Kakao Games’ first financial report covering 2024 is out today, and perhaps not surprisingly, Q1 wasn’t particularly great or garbage for the Korean gaming giant. The company reported to investors that its revenues were down 1.2% since Q1 2023 but up 2.6% since last quarter, with the losses coming from “non-game business” rather than its PC and mobile titles. (A little bit of frustration there as some of the PC revenue’s windfall was attributed to ArcheAge, which we’ve since learned will sunset.)
The majority of Kakao Games’ focus is indeed on mobile titles, as evidenced by the revenue breakdown, but it’s the MMORPGs we care about, and the investor report brought some big news – expected news, but big nonetheless for Chrono Odyssey and ArcheAge 2. Specifically, Chrono Odyssey, the Chrono Studio MMO being published by Kakao, is on track for a 2025 launch, as is XLGAMES’ ArcheAge 2 (again, being pubbed in the west by Kakao).
Readers will notice right away that this is a very different chart from the one released last quarter, when ArcheAge 2 was still listed as “post 25,” leading everyone to assume it had been delayed yet again. Now it looks as if it’s been bumped back to 2025. Then again, it’s already been delayed several times, so either way, we’re in for a wait.
The full list includes several other MMOs and multiplayer titles of note, including ArcheAge War (within the next few months), as well as other 2025 titles like Project S, Project Q, and Ares Rise of Guardians – the last two being classed as proper MMORPGs.
• Now XLGAMES is sunsetting the Korean version of ArcheAge too
• Kakao Q3 2024: ArcheAge 2 aka ArcheAge Chronicles has been delayed yet again
• Kakao Q2 2024: Profits nosedive as ArcheAge 2 faces another potential delay
• Kakao Q1 2024: ArcheAge 2 and Chrono Odyssey are apparently back on track for 2025
• Kakao’s western version of ArcheAge is sunsetting in June
• Kakao Q4 2023: ArcheAge 2 has been delayed (again), now to some point in or after 2025
• Chrono Odyssey debuts a splashy new in-engine trailer and confirms Kakao Games as publisher
• Kakao is effectively sunsetting ArcheAge Unchained, merging it into two remaining western ArcheAge servers
• Kakao Games Q2 2023: ArcheAge 2 targets second half of 2024, Ares Rise of Guardians launches in Korea
• Kakao partially denies report that ArcheAge will sunset following XLGAMES restructure
• Kakao Q3 2022: Revenue down, pipeline packed with ArcheAge War, Ares, Odin Valhalla Rising, Dysterra
• Kakao and XLGAMES reconfirm that ArcheAge 2 is launching in 2024
• Kakao’s Project Ares is a new MMORPG called Ares: Rise of Guardians
• Kakao is taking over publishing ArcheAge in the west from Gamigo
• Kakao Q1 2021 financials: ArcheAge 2 won’t be ready until at least 2024
• Desert Oasis: A brief history of Kakao Games, Black Desert’s former PC publisher
• Kakao Games’ Q3 2020 investor report suggests late 2021 western launch for Elyon Ascent Infinite Realm
• MMO Business Roundup: Kakao’s controlling stake in XLGAMES, Steam’s new record, Xbox’s games-as-a-service