South Korean game giant Nexon delivered robust earnings in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rebound in key franchises like Dungeon Fighter and MapleStory. But with the outlook for the second quarter remaining clouded by weaker guidance, hopes are now pinned on the continued momentum of its key franchises.
In the January-March period, Nexon posted 1.08 trillion won ($1.33 billion) in revenue and 395.2 billion won in operating income, exceeding market expectations.
According to the company, its performance was supported not only by its long-standing intellectual properties but also by newer titles such as The First Berserker: Khazan and Mabinogi Mobile.
Nexon’s strength in live service operations and localized content strategies played a key role, particularly in boosting player engagement in Korea and abroad, the company added.
The PC version of Dungeon Fighter, which had been suffering a prolonged decline, rebounded thanks to content updates and refined regional strategies.
MapleStory, which faced a major sales slump following a Fair Trade Commission fine in 2024, also bounced back after a well-received winter update and global hyper-localization efforts, Nexon said.
The company gave a subdued outlook for the second quarter, however. According to its earnings guidance released Tuesday, both revenue and operating profit are expected to decline significantly year-on-year, with operating profit potentially falling to nearly half of last year’s figure.
Analysts say that the recent rebound of the two flagship games may be partly driven by a base effect, after an extended period of underperformance, and note that new growth engines are needed to sustain momentum.
While the recovery of Nexon's core intellectual properties — believed to account for a major share of the company’s revenue — is a positive sign, turning this rebound into consistent long-term growth may be difficult amid tough internal and external conditions, analysts say.
The risks to the firm's performance include rising development costs, regulatory risks and labor disputes at Neople, the developer of Dungeon Fighter Online.
To build sustainable momentum, Nexon said it would balance the stabilization of its core intellectual properties with efforts to discover new growth drivers, all while adapting to an increasingly uncertain global market.
spark@heraldcorp.com
