Netmarble is shifting its focus from a strategy of releasing new titles in succession to expanding the lifespan and revenue of existing games over the long term. It plans to raise the bar for launching new titles and strengthen live-service capabilities to improve earnings stability.

Netmarble adjusted its new-title lineup for the second half to 3 games. As market concerns grew over the performance of new titles in the first half, it decided to apply stricter launch criteria rather than increase the number of releases and to strengthen its capabilities in operating live games.

Netmarble CEO Kim Byung-gyu (김병규) said on a conference call for its 2026 second-quarter earnings announcement on Tuesday, "The reason we preemptively adjusted the second-half lineup is that we determined there is a need to set stricter launch criteria and to operate large-scale resources投入 into new-title launches more efficiently."

The ultimate goal of the adjustment is to expand the product life cycle (PLC) of live games rather than cut costs. Netmarble has been recognized for its ability to release multiple new titles, but it has been assessed as having relatively short game lifespans after launch. It judged that it needs to expand the lifespan and revenue of existing games to complement a growth structure that depends on launching new titles.

"Even a 7-year-old game is still growing"...Potential shown by Grand Cross

Netmarble cited The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross as the basis for its long-term operations strategy. The game has been in service for more than 7 years, but it posted annual revenue of more than 100 billion won from 2024, and revenue continued to rise from 2024 to 2025 and again through the first half of this year.

Netmarble plans to apply operational methods accumulated in the game, such as improving retention rates and rolling out major updates, to other live games. The game’s revenue rose sharply in the second quarter on the back of its seventh anniversary update, accounting for 5 percent of total revenue.

Marvel Contest of Champions also continued its growth trend on the back of seasonal promotions. By game, Marvel Contest of Champions had the highest share of second-quarter revenue at 9 percent, while The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, Latcha Slot, Jackpot World and Cash Frenzy each accounted for 7 percent.

Netmarble expects revenue will not decline immediately even if it reduces the number of new titles, as expansions of service regions for existing games will proceed sequentially. Sol: Enchant, released in June, ranked No. 1 on South Korea’s two major app markets, and it plans to drive long-term performance through wider service regions and content updates.

Revenue up 15% but cost burden grows...Asset sale improves finances

In the second quarter, performance improved from the previous quarter as revenue growth from existing games and the impact of new-title launches combined. Netmarble’s consolidated second-quarter revenue was 749.2 billion won, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier and up 15 percent from the previous quarter. Operating profit was 80.1 billion won, down 20.8 percent from a year earlier but up 50.8 percent from the previous quarter.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was 112.0 billion won, up 33.5 percent from the previous quarter, with an EBITDA margin of 14.9 percent. Net profit was 203.9 billion won, reflecting gains on disposal including those tied to the sale of G-Tower. Cumulative first-half revenue was 1.40 trillion won and operating profit was 133.2 billion won.

On costs, the burden of marketing for new titles was evident. Second-quarter operating expenses were 669.1 billion won, up 11.8 percent from the previous quarter. Marketing expenses rose 9.1 percent to 183.5 billion won following the launches of Mongil: Star Dive and Sol: Enchant, while labor costs increased 8.9 percent to 182.5 billion won, reflecting the effect of wage hikes.

As the revenue share of games based on external intellectual property (IP) rose, commissions paid also increased 17.3 percent from the previous quarter to 235.6 billion won. The commission rate as a share of revenue rose 0.6 percentage points to 31.4 percent from 30.8 percent. The structure is such that the commission burden can rise as the share of external-IP games expands.

Netmarble Chief Financial Officer Do Gi-uk (도기욱) said of the effect of lower market commissions, "The impact on this year’s performance is minimal, and we expect a meaningful level of effect to emerge from next year." Marketing expenses in the second half are expected to stabilise compared with the first half.

Netmarble also strengthened its financial soundness through a reshuffle of its asset portfolio in the first half. Cash and cash equivalents stood at 809.7 billion won at the end of the second quarter, up 53.3 billion won from the end of the first quarter, while short-term borrowings fell 456.6 billion won over the same period to 305.9 billion won from 762.5 billion won. Tangible assets declined due to the sale of G-Tower, but gains on disposal and cash inflows secured financial leeway.

Second-half new lineup narrowed to 3 titles...2027 lineup to be disclosed later

Netmarble will release three new titles in the second half: Solo Leveling: Karma, Shangri-La Frontier: Seven Strongest Species and Project Aegis. Solo Leveling: Karma is a global mobile and PC roguelite action RPG, while Shangri-La Frontier: Seven Strongest Species is a Japan-focused mobile and PC collectible RPG. Project Aegis is being developed as a global mobile and PC collectible RPG.

Netmarble plans to unveil Solo Leveling: Karma and Shangri-La Frontier: Seven Strongest Species at the Tokyo Game Show in September, along with Pearl in Blue, which is slated for release in 2027. It plans to disclose the specific number of new titles and the release schedule for its post-2027 lineup at a separate event.

Alongside the performance of new titles, operational capabilities to maintain revenue from existing games over the long term were presented as a key task that will determine future earnings stability and growth.