Netmarble, the creator of Seven Knights, has revealed its fourth-quarter results alongside a summary of its 2023 fiscal year. The company disclosed a 65% decline in net loss from ₩886 billion ($668 million) to ₩313 billion ($236 million) year-on-year.
Despite the challenges of 2023, Netmarble saw a stronger performance in Q4. The quarter alone brought in more than half of its 2023 total with ₩195 billion ($147 million) in net loss, showing financial improvement with a positive operating income.
Financial Recovery
Q4 proved to be the most lucrative quarter of the year for Netmarble, yielding ₩665 billion ($502 million) in revenue with a 5.4% quarter-on-quarter increase. This continued the upward trajectory seen throughout 2023 since a weaker Q1. However, Q4 was still down 3.2% year-on-year.
EBITDA saw a strong percentage increase, up by 146.5% quarter-on-quarter and 69.2% year-on-year to ₩60.4 billion ($46 million). Operating profit climbed out of the negatives for the first time in over a year, ending 2023 at 2.7% compared to -3.5% last Q4.
Earnings from Netmarble’s RPGs rose by 11% between Q1 and Q4, and now make up 38% of the company’s gaming revenue. Meanwhile, the share of casual games fell from 47% in Q1 to 43% in Q4.
Netmarble attributed its successful last quarter to its biggest game Marvel Contest of Champions and to the recently launched Seven Knights Idle Adventure, which helped propel Netmarble to becoming the second-biggest Korean mobile publisher. Other top revenue generators included Jackpot World, Lotsa Slots, and Cash Frenzy.
Future Outlook
In 2023, 83% of Netmarble’s revenue came from overseas. Looking ahead to 2024, the company has five game launches scheduled in H1. These releases include Arthdal Chronicles: Three Factions, Raven 2, Solo Leveling: Arise, King Arthur: Legends Rise, and Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds. Notably, all five upcoming releases fall into the RPG genre, suggesting continued growth in revenue proportion for Netmarble.
