The free-to-play PC gaming publisher Nexon had a strong quarter thanks to support from its home market.
The South Korean company reported the results of its Q3, and it revealed that it generated $395 million (¥45.6 billion) in revenues during the period. That is up 14 percent year-over-year, and it’s also $27 million (¥3 billion) higher than its own guidance. Nexon’s PC games continue to contribute the bulk of its earnings — although mobile contributions were up 41 percent to $8.87 million (¥9.7 billion).
“Our third quarter results exceeded the high end of our outlook largely due to strength in South Korea, particularly in mobile,” Nexon chief executive officer Owen Mahoney said. “[Strong performance also came from] our continuing focus on improving game quality, which translated into solid performance in both PC and mobile titles.”
Looking ahead, Nexon is less enthusiastic about its forecast for Q4. The publisher’s Gloops developer is on the decline. Nexon acquired that studio in 2012 to help with its mobile performance in Japan, and it doesn’t look like it’s paying off. Revenues in Japan came in at $6.58 million, which were down $1.37 million from the previous year.
Gloops has six games set to launch during Q4, and Nexon is hanging a lot on its performance.
“Our upcoming game pipeline is robust,” said Mahoney. “And we remain focused on continuing to deliver fun and unique game experiences to our players around the world, which we believe will drive long-term growth for Nexon.”