The growth engine of South Korean game makers has expanded beyond mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) to overseas markets, PC and console, and casual titles.

Second-quarter and first-half results at major game makers show some companies reshaped the scale of their results as new titles sold in the global PC and console market, while others added another revenue axis of overseas markets, platforms and genres on top of existing businesses.

New-title hits translate directly into overseas revenue; PC and console set new records.

Pearl Abyss reflected the sales performance of "Crimson Desert", released at the end of March, directly in its results. Second-quarter revenue was 192.6 billion won, up 247.7 percent from a year earlier. "Crimson Desert" alone generated 136.1 billion won, accounting for about 70 percent of total revenue.

Overseas revenue made up 91 percent in the second quarter, and North America and Europe alone accounted for 75 percent of total revenue. Increased overseas sales volume, rather than an expansion of domestic users, boosted total revenue for the quarter.

Pearl Abyss plans to release downloadable content (DLC) within the year to maintain this sales base, and to introduce a Nintendo Switch 2 version in the first half of 2027.

A similar trend appeared at Krafton. In the second quarter, monthly active users (MAU) for "PUBG: Battlegrounds" on PC and console rose more than 20 percent from a year earlier, and related revenue increased more than 70 percent. On top of that, new title "Subnautica 2", released in early access in May, topped cumulative sales of 5 million copies in 22 days.

With the two factors combined, second-quarter PC revenue was 560.4 billion won, exceeding 500.0 billion won for the first time on a quarterly basis. Console revenue also rose 143.3 percent from a year earlier as "Subnautica 2" sales were reflected. Over the same period, mobile revenue rose 5.5 percent, making growth in PC and console stand out relatively.

Pearl Abyss and Krafton share that the performance of new and existing titles targeting the global PC and console market led to an expansion in the scale of results. By contrast, Netmarble, NC and Nexon grew by adding revenue sources such as overseas markets, platforms and genres on top of existing businesses.

Netmarble, NC and Nexon add new revenue sources while protecting existing IP.

Netmarble posted second-quarter overseas revenue of 580.8 billion won, accounting for 78 percent of total revenue. By region, North America contributed 39 percent and South Korea 22 percent, with North America larger than the domestic market. By genre, RPG accounted for 42 percent, casual 35 percent and MMORPG 17 percent, showing a structure not concentrated in a single genre. Despite revenue growth, second-quarter operating profit fell 20.8 percent from a year earlier to 80.1 billion won.

The quarter's revenue increase reflected both an update to the existing title "The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin" and early momentum for the new MMORPG "Sol: Enchant", released on June 18. Genre diversification did not replace MMORPG revenue so much as both factors lifted results together.

NC's second-quarter revenue was 770.5 billion won, up 101 percent from a year earlier. The overseas revenue share rose to 52 percent, surpassing the domestic share of 48 percent, and extended an uptrend for a fourth consecutive quarter. In the same quarter, global mobile game platform JustPlay was consolidated for the first time.

With the impact of adding JustPlay, mobile casual revenue also reached 169.7 billion won, accounting for 22 percent of the total. That did not mean the existing business shrank.

In the same quarter, PC game revenue was 343.8 billion won, setting another quarterly record after the first quarter. "Lineage Classic" generated 185.5 billion won, and "Lineage M" also grew 4 percent from the previous quarter. A new axis of overseas and casual was added on top of existing MMORPG revenue.

Nexon also grew in a similar way. Second-quarter revenue was 1.14 trillion won, up 2 percent from a year earlier in yen terms, and operating profit was 294.3 billion won, down 17 percent. For the first half, revenue totalled 2.56 trillion won, up 17 percent, and operating profit was 837.9 billion won, up 13 percent, marking the highest ever for a half-year period.

Growth was led by the "MapleStory" franchise, with second-quarter revenue up 63 percent from a year earlier to a quarterly record. The sandbox creation platform "MapleStory World" (revenue up 123 percent) and mobile title "MapleStory Idle" both drove growth overseas.

The new PC and console title "Arc Raiders", released in October last year, also supported results. Global cumulative sales exceeded 16.3 million copies. With contributions from the MapleStory franchise and Arc Raiders, first-half overseas revenue and PC and console platform revenue rose 44 percent and 27 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, and both set half-year records.

The same strategic direction does not mean improved results follow immediately. Both Kakao Games and Devsisters are pushing portfolio diversification, but both reported losses in the second quarter.

Kakao Games presented three pillars for expanding its portfolio: global expansion of existing MMORPGs, use of external intellectual property (IP), and securing sports and casual genres. Second-quarter revenue fell 35.2 percent from a year earlier to 75.0 billion won, and it posted an operating loss of 23.0 billion won. Lee Si-woo (이시우), co-chief executive of Kakao Games, assessed that repeated delays in new title releases worsened market trust.

Devsisters is also expanding "CookieRun Classic" overseas, including Thailand, from June 25, and is diversifying by growing non-game IP businesses such as trading card games (TCG) and character merchandise to more than 10 percent of half-year revenue. Even so, it posted second-quarter revenue of 52.7 billion won and an operating loss of 16.0 billion won. As its live games entered a restructuring phase, revenue fell in the short term, and the company forecast profitability would improve from the third quarter.

A notable point in the results is that new growth axes are being added on top of existing core businesses rather than replacing them. Pearl Abyss added "Crimson Desert" as a new revenue source while generating revenue from "Black Desert", and Krafton added "Subnautica 2" on top of the growth of PUBG. NC added a mobile casual business to Lineage revenue, and Nexon added a new PC and console IP, Arc Raiders, to the MapleStory franchise. It is an approach of securing additional growth in new markets and platforms while preserving revenue from core IP.

The success of diversifying growth engines appears to depend less on how broadly business areas expand than on how large a second and third revenue source can be made while maintaining existing profit sources.

Still, if cost burdens such as payment fees and marketing expenses grow together as at Netmarble, profit can fall even as topline revenue rises. Not only the scale of new revenue sources but also how steadily they can be converted into profit is becoming more important.

An industry official said, "The trend of expanding revenue sources overseas and to PC and console is already clear, but increased revenue does not immediately lead to increased profit," adding, "Going forward, differences among game companies will come from how stably they monetise revenue secured in new markets."