Patrick Soderlund (패트릭 쇠더룬드), who became executive chair of Nexon’s Japan unit last month, said it will be difficult to achieve the revenue and operating profit targets the company had initially set for 2027. He said he will immediately begin a portfolio overhaul and a cost reset.

Speaking at a Capital Market Briefing (CMB) in Tokyo on March 31, Soderlund said the basis for the targets at the time was strong franchise momentum, growth in the new-title pipeline and improved profitability from scaling up. He said Dungeon & Fighter Mobile structurally fell short of expectations and releases of new titles were delayed. Costs also rose faster than revenue during the portfolio expansion process, pressuring margins, he said.

He said he has no confidence in meeting the figures 18 months from now, only a month after taking the role. He withheld any revised target.

Nexon posted record results in 2025, with revenue of 475.0 billion yen and operating profit of 124.0 billion yen.

He cited the bloating of the portfolio as the most urgent task. Nexon will recheck all live games and new titles against contribution margin based on realistic assumptions. It plans to increase investment in some, restructure others and cancel some. He said the aim is not simple cost-cutting but reassessing profit contribution from the start. He added that a review will also cover indirect functions not directly related to game development and operations.

On the non-disclosure of a code error in January in 'Maple Raising', he said the error was fixed without being reported to management or being announced to users. He said refund costs were substantial, but the bigger issue was damage to trust. He said Nexon introduced a chief risk officer (CRO) role, made a dual reporting system mandatory and strengthened board oversight to correct this.

Soderlund summed up the direction of the restructuring as 'fewer bets, stronger conviction in each bet'. He said the model he envisions for Nexon is that of professional sports clubs such as Real Madrid and the Dodgers. He said the plan is to secure several fan-driven franchises that last for the long term, rather than a one-off hit.

Soderlund said there are users who, for decades, say 'I play Dungeon & Fighter' and 'I play MapleStory'. He stressed that the goal is to treat this community not as a side effect but as part of the product, and expand to four or five franchises rather than two or three.

He added that the criterion for all investment and M&A decisions also comes down to a single question: whether it can become someone's lifelong passion.