[DigitalToday reporter Ho-jeong Lee] Com2uS sharply improved first-quarter profitability, helped by growth in its baseball games and cost efficiencies. The company expects its strongest growth in recent years through the second-half releases of the MMORPG "Zeus: The God of Pride" and "Do-won Amgui Crimson Inferno" based on a Japanese anime intellectual property (IP).

Com2uS said in a regulatory filing on May 13 that it posted consolidated first-quarter revenue of 144.7 billion won and operating profit of 5.1 billion won. Revenue fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier, but operating profit jumped 206.9 percent, lifting the operating margin to 3.5 percent. The revenue decline mainly stemmed from a 41.6 percent drop in subsidiary revenue due to changes in progress rates for content production at subsidiaries. On a separate basis, revenue was 122.9 billion won, down 5.9 percent, and operating profit rose 47.1 percent to 7.7 billion won, for an operating margin of 6.3 percent. The company posted a net loss of 8.3 billion won, turning to a loss after reflecting valuation losses on investment assets.

The key drivers of the profitability improvement were growth in sports games and more efficient marketing spending. On a separate basis, first-quarter sports game revenue was 63.9 billion won, up 23.9 percent from a year earlier. The overall baseball lineup grew 26.2 percent, while "Com2uS Pro Baseball V26" surged 59 percent and set a new monthly revenue record in March. Com2uS directly signed a WBC licence this time and linked in-game events with sales, boosting traffic even before the season opener. Traffic for "Com2uS Pro Baseball V26" around the opener was up about 50 percent from a year earlier. Daily active users for "MLB 9 Innings Rivals" rose about 20 percent and revenue increased 29.3 percent, while "MLB 9 Innings 26" also grew 12 percent.

Marketing spending was 6.9 billion won, down 61.5 percent from a year earlier, and the ratio of marketing spending to game revenue fell to 5.6 percent, its lowest level in the past 3 years. RPG revenue was 56.6 billion won, down 25.1 percent. "Summoners War: Sky Arena" delivered revenue 47 percent higher than the previous event through a collaboration with The Lord of the Rings IP, but a longer product life cycle (PLC) and seasonal weakness weighed on results.

Zeus, Do-won Amgui drive second-half push, aims for biggest growth in years

Com2uS is putting "Zeus: The God of Pride" at the forefront as its growth engine for the second half. It is a competitive MMORPG being developed by Eiberton, with its domestic launch in the third quarter confirmed. It is set in Greek mythology and applies Unreal Engine 5 and Nvidia's latest upscaling technology to achieve a high level of graphical completeness.

The differentiator lies in how the competition structure is designed. Chief executive Jae-kwan Nam (남재관) said on a conference call that existing competitive MMORPGs had a problem in which some users were excluded from competition due to differences in spending levels or specs. Zeus is designed so that users in all tiers can take part as the protagonist of competition in their own position, he said. He also said, "The success factor for this genre ultimately comes down to the completeness of balance," and stressed that the company is concentrating development capabilities on that area along with graphical completeness.

The company also presented the implementation of Greek mythology as a competitive MMORPG as a differentiating element. Nam said, "Greek mythology has been implemented in various content such as movies, but it has never been implemented in the competitive MMORPG genre." The monetisation model is in the final stage of design, and the company plans to sequentially disclose information on a weekly and monthly basis through a teaser site opened on May 6, and to disclose details before and after pre-registration. Marketing will be concentrated in the third quarter.

"Do-won Amgui Crimson Inferno" is targeting a second-half launch. Whether it will be in the third quarter or fourth quarter has not been decided. Nam said, "We will create the highest-ranking revenue and popularity in this genre," setting out an expectation level.

Gachiakuta, A-Rank Party to sustain IP lineup beyond 2027

The mid- to long-term lineup is also taking shape. "Gachiakuta: The Game" (tentative title) is an IP that has secured a global fandom, with its original anime nominated in 16 categories at the Crunchyroll Weekly Anime Awards. Cumulative views on the official channel for combat footage released by Com2uS are about 450,000, and reach about 1 million including derivative creation videos.

An action RPG based on Kodansha's "A-Rank Party" IP is designed around dungeon exploration and combat and is under development with a 2027 release target. Nam said that, based on lessons learned from experience in servicing multiple games, it is right to release a title only when the company is confident in its completeness and stability, stressing a cautious release stance.

Lower fees are also emerging as a factor in profit improvement. Com2uS explained that even as revenue increases for some games, the burden of fees paid related to platform commissions is easing due to a higher share of web shop payments. Nam said, "Even a commission reduction effect of 1 to 3 percentage points directly impacts profit," and forecast that "the reduction effect will grow as we head into the second half."

Com2uS did not disclose specific numerical guidance, but made its direction clear. In the first half, it aims to continue growth from a year earlier led by its baseball games and Summoners War, and in the second half it is targeting the biggest growth in recent years as 2 new titles join the lineup.

Com2uS said, "In 2026, we will be able to show a step up through the release of anticipated new titles and strengthened global publishing."