Devsisters is seeking a turnaround through high-intensity reforms, including companywide voluntary retirement, and new titles in the second half, as its loss widened in the first quarter due to a downshift and stabilisation in existing titles and weak performance from new releases.

Devsisters said on May 11 that preliminary first-quarter revenue under Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS) fell 2 percent from the previous quarter to 58.5 billion won. Operating loss totalled 17.4 billion won and net loss came to 15.1 billion won.

The main driver of the weak results was underperformance in its core lineup. In the first quarter, the revenue impact of the fifth anniversary update for "Cookie Run: Kingdom" fell short of expectations. The initial performance of new title "Cookie Run: OvenSmash", released in late March, was weak, stalling top-line growth. Operating losses widened as development of new projects and investments in intellectual property (IP) continued.

Devsisters plans to establish its financial structure by pushing companywide management reforms, including reshaping its portfolio around revenue and growth, building high-efficiency work systems based on new technologies, strict cost controls and streamlining the organisation. In particular, top management including Chief Executive Kil-hyun Cho (조길현) will forgo all compensation, and the company has begun measures to overhaul its cost structure, including offering voluntary retirement to all employees.

The company is also preparing a second-half momentum to drive improvement in results. "Cookie Run: Kingdom" re-entered the No. 4 spot on South Korea's Apple App Store sales chart after a recent update that opens a new narrative, raising the possibility of a rebound. In the third quarter, it will officially launch the idle RPG new title "Cookie Run: Crumble" globally, featuring a full lineup of cookies from its universe.

It will also increase the scale of IP-based ancillary businesses. Trading card game (TCG) "Cookie Run: Braverse" will be listed on a global single-card trading platform this summer and expand into the European market in the second half. In the third quarter, it will release the Roblox game "Cookie Run Card Collection", based on its TCG experience, to pursue ecosystem expansion.

It also plans to broaden regions covered by local direct delivery through its official Amazon store, and to take part in the Licensing Expo being held this month to actively push global licensing expansion.

A Devsisters official said, "Based on the management reform plan, we will drive the successful establishment of new titles in the second half and expand efficiency in core live services," adding, "We plan to reinforce management stability once again."