Wemade extended its profitable run to a third straight quarter, supported by strength in its licence and blockchain businesses.

Wemade said on Monday first-quarter consolidated revenue rose 8 percent from a year earlier to 153.3 billion won. Operating profit came to 8.5 billion won and net profit was 19.9 billion won, both swinging to profit from the same period a year earlier. From the previous quarter, revenue and operating profit fell 20 percent and 65 percent, respectively, while net profit returned to the black.

By business, revenue was 115.2 billion won from games, 30.5 billion won from licences and 7.5 billion won from blockchain. Game revenue slipped slightly from the previous quarter, but licence revenue reflected the end of an intellectual property royalty dispute over "The Legend of Mir 2" with China's Kingnet, supporting overall results.

The blockchain business continued to grow, surging 17 percent from the previous quarter and 867 percent from a year earlier as a Wemix-based economic system became more active within "Legend of YMIR", which was launched globally in October last year.

To secure mid- to long-term growth drivers, Wemade is preparing about 20 new titles across genres including massively multiplayer online role-playing games, casual and subculture.

Starting with a new title using the "Knight Crows" IP that is scheduled for release in the second half of this year, it will roll out major games sequentially each year, including its first major global console title, "Project TAL". It is also actively preparing for "Mir 4" and "Knight Crows", which have proven their appeal in global markets, to enter China.

For its blockchain business, it will focus on building an ecosystem where Wemix functions as a practical utility within its game platform. It plans to use Wemix as a base currency to energise economic activity among users and to continue expanding user touchpoints through listings on key exchanges in major countries.