By Sagar V. Mankar Krafton, the publisher behind the popular PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), has hit a new revenue high in Q1 2024. The South Korean gaming giant generated a staggering ₩665.9 billion ($487.7 million) in sales, making it their biggest quarter ever.
PUBG Still Reigning on Mobile, PC and Console
The primary driver behind Krafton’s blowout Q1 was the continued success of PUBG across mobile, PC, and console platforms. As the battle royale genre leader, PUBG capitalized on its huge global player base to propel operating profit up 89% quarter-over-quarter to ₩310.5 billion ($227.4 million).
Breaking it down by platform, mobile accounted for the largest slice at 60% of total revenue or ₩402.3 billion ($294.6 million). PC came next contributing ₩243.7 billion ($178.5 million), while console lagged at just ₩11.5 billion ($8.4 million).
Mobile Maintains Dominance Despite Slowest Growth
Though still king, mobile’s 60% share actually marked a drop from 64% in Q4 2023. More notably, it had the slowest growth of the three at 15.5% compared to PC’s 36.5% and console’s 58.5% revenue increases.
This suggests mobile may be starting to saturate as PUBG’s player base matures. PC and console could be benefiting from extra spending by hardcore gamers.
India Ambitions and M&A Activity
With a stellar 52.4% net profit margin in Q1, Krafton is doubling down on future growth initiatives. A key focus is becoming the top games publisher in India through titles like the newly released Bullet Echo India, the upcoming Cookie Run, and the recently unveiled Garuda Saga.
Krafton has also been active on the M&A front, investing in 9 game studios this year including C77 Entertainment and Red Rover. The company’s record Q1 cements PUBG’s staying power atop the battle royale genre.
As they leverage their IP and expand into new markets like India, Krafton seems primed to extend this stellar performance through 2024 and beyond.