BUSAN — Krafton, the Korean recreation developer behind hits like PUBG: Battlegrounds, noticed its inventory value drop 27.76 % over the previous six months, from 376,500 gained on Might 12 to 272,000 gained on Wednesday.
Over the identical interval, the nation’s benchmark KOSPI jumped 59.2 %, whereas one other home recreation large Netmarble noticed its inventory rise 10.9 %. Though listed on the Japanese inventory market, one other Korean recreation titan, Nexon, recorded a 62.7 % enhance in its inventory value.
The corporate’s absence from the broader inventory rally got here regardless of its strong earnings. Buoyed by the regular reputation of the PUBG franchise, Krafton has been posting record-high earnings virtually each quarter. Most just lately, the corporate, for the primary time, surpassed the 1 trillion gained ($680.6 million) mark in its cumulative working revenue — from January to September — after posting 870.6 billion gained in gross sales and 348.6 billion gained in working revenue for the third quarter.
The elemental motive behind its sluggish inventory efficiency is that its pipeline of latest titles have but to fulfill the expectations.
The corporate’s main releases for 2026 are anticipated to be Palworld Cellular, an open-world survival and monster-taming cell recreation, and Subnautica 2, a sequel to the 2018 hit survival recreation Subnautica.
Audiences queue to check Krafton’s Palworld Cellular on the firm’s sales space at G-STAR 2025 in Busan, Thursday. Korea Instances photograph by Nam Hyun-woo
On the 2025 G-STAR recreation conference in Busan, which kicked off on Thursday, Krafton provided a demo of Palworld Cellular, which is able to launch its closed alpha take a look at in Korea and Japan subsequent month.
Palworld Cellular is the cell model of the 2024 title Palworld by Japan’s Pocketpair. The unique Palworld has attracted greater than 32 million gamers, fueled by optimistic person response for its gameplay, during which gamers acquire monsters referred to as Buddies and construct their very own bases by fight and development.
Players who examined Krafton’s Palworld Cellular on the sales space additionally gave optimistic suggestions. One person mentioned the controls for crafting and base constructing had been properly tailored to the cell atmosphere. One other tester famous that the sport’s total look was cute sufficient for newcomers to get pleasure from, even when they weren’t accustomed to the unique title.
Seen above is the gameplay of Palworld Cellular obtainable at Krafton’s sales space at G-STAR 2025 in Busan, Thursday. Korea Instances photograph by Nam Hyun-woo
Regardless of favorable early suggestions, doubts stay over whether or not Palworld Cellular could make a significant contribution to Krafton’s progress trajectory.
“Given the character of their genres, neither Palworld Cellular nor Subnautica 2 is prone to drive companywide progress by itself,” DS Funding & Securities analyst Choi Seung-ho mentioned. “Finally, Krafton’s 2026 earnings will even be swayed by PUBG.”
With Pocketpair proudly owning the mental property for Palworld, business specialists anticipate that royalties to the Japanese firm might be inevitable, which might constrain the sport’s profitability.
By way of Subnautica 2, improvement is being dealt with by Unknown Worlds Leisure, a completely owned Krafton subsidiary. However since Krafton already spent greater than 650 billion gained upfront whereas buying Unknown Worlds, the business success of Subnautica 2 has turn into extra crucial for the corporate.
Guests take images with mascots of Palworld Cellular at Krafton’s sales space at G-STAR 2025 in Busan, Thursday. Courtesy of Krafton
Analysts and business specialists say Krafton will finally want a profitable AAA-grade title, usually a recreation with a price range over $100 million, to reassure the market.
Krafton launched early entry for its AAA-grade life simulator InZOI in March. Preliminary reactions had been optimistic, however the official launch has been delayed till subsequent 12 months, which means it should take a while earlier than the sport can generate income.
The corporate can also be engaged on a AAA title based mostly on the Korean fantasy novel “The Fowl That Drinks Tears,” and PUBG Studios Madison can also be creating a AAA-grade console shooter. However analysts say the corporate’s pipeline might want to take clearer form earlier than buyers can reassess the corporate’s worth.
“We imagine Krafton will set up itself as a serious participant of the worldwide gaming business by its investments, however it’s also troublesome to mirror that outlook into valuation and not using a clearer pipeline,” Choi mentioned.
