W Games posted year-on-year growth in both revenue and operating profit for the third quarter this year. Cost-saving effects from expanding its direct-to-consumer (DTC) payment channel also continued.

W Games said on Wednesday that on a consolidated basis it recorded third-quarter 2026 revenue of 195.4 billion won and operating profit of 63.5 billion won.

Revenue rose 5 percent and operating profit increased 7.4 percent from a year earlier. From the previous quarter, revenue fell 7.2 percent and operating profit declined 9.3 percent.

Cumulative revenue for the first three quarters totalled 611.0 billion won, up 17.5 percent from a year earlier. Cumulative operating profit rose 20.1 percent to 202.1 billion won.

Cumulative revenue and operating profit are at 84.9 percent and 87.1 percent, respectively, of last year's full-year results.

The cumulative operating profit margin was 33.1 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 22.1 percent to 221.9 billion won, and the EBITDA margin increased 1.4 percentage points to 36.3 percent.

In the third quarter, the DTC share of social casino revenue expanded to about three times the year-earlier level, rising to 53.6 percent from 17.6 percent. It topped 50 percent for the first time.

DTC refers to a method in which users make payments directly through a company’s own payment channel without going through an app market.

As the DTC share increased, cumulative platform fees for the first three quarters fell 18.4 percent from a year earlier. The share of variable costs as a proportion of revenue also declined by 4.4 percentage points to 25.7 percent from 30.1 percent.

The impact of Google Play’s in-app payment fee cuts, implemented at the end of June, was also reflected from the third quarter.

The social casino market share rose by 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier to 7.1 percent in the third quarter. The company said it ranked fourth globally by quarterly revenue.

By title, the DTC share of revenue was in the 60 percent range for DoubleDown Casino and in the mid-30 percent range for W Casino.

Cumulative revenue by segment for the first three quarters was tallied at 459.5 billion won for social casino, 75.5 billion won for iGaming and 76.0 billion won for casual games.

Social casino revenue increased 6.3 percent from a year earlier. It reflected the operation of existing major games and the results of Wow Games, which it acquired in July last year.

SuperNation, which is responsible for the iGaming business, posted cumulative revenue of 75.5 billion won, up 19.0 percent from a year earlier. Paxie Games in the casual segment recorded revenue of 76.0 billion won.

The combined revenue share of the iGaming and casual segments expanded by 7.9 percentage points to 24.8 percent from 16.9 percent a year earlier.

W Games plans to strengthen seasonal events and live operations in the fourth quarter, which includes peak season periods such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

A W Games official said that, on a cumulative basis through the third quarter, both revenue and operating profit posted double-digit growth and had already reached a level equivalent to 87 percent of last year's full-year operating profit. The official said the company will continue its growth momentum based on improving its cost structure through expanding DTC and diversifying its portfolio.