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Nexon posts its best Q3 ever thanks to mobile revenue surge

Mobile revenue up 140% thanks to The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon, KartRider Rush+ and V4

MapleStory publisher Nexon just posted its best Q3 ever, with revenue up 52% year-over-year to ¥79.4 billion ($754 million).

Mobile game revenue accounted for 42% of the total, up 140% year-over-year thanks to three titles exceeding the company's expectations for the quarter: The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon, KartRider Rush+ and V4.

PC games made up the remainder of the total with revenue up 20% year-over-year, driven by franchises across multiple markets including MapleStory, Dungeon&Fighter, Sudden Attack and FIFA Online 4 in Korea.

Though operating income was below outlook at ¥27.6 billion ($262 million), it was nonetheless a new record for Q3 operating income, up 13% year-over-year and driven by strong performance in Korea despite a ¥3 billion ($28 million) impairment loss.

Net income was also below outlook at ¥16.3 billion ($155 million) due to operating income underperformance and an ¥8.6 billion ($82 million) FX loss, primarily on U.S. dollar-denominated cash deposits.

Additionally, Nexon announced that its initiative to invest $1.5 billion in global entertainment companies is proceeding as planned, with the company having thus far invested ¥85.9 billion ($816 million) (54%) of its fund.

It was also added to the Nikkei Stock Average in October.

For Q4, Nexon expects revenue between ¥60.7 billion ($577 million) and ¥65.5 billion ($622 million), up 23% to 33% year-over-year.

It projects operating income of ¥12.3 billion ($117 million) to ¥16 billion ($152 million), and net income of ¥8.7 billion ($83 million) to ¥11.6 billion ($110 million).

For the record: This article has been corrected post-publication to show that Nexon was added to the Nikkei Stock Average, not the Nikkei Stock Exchange, in October.

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Rebekah Valentine

Senior Staff Writer

Rebekah arrived at GamesIndustry in 2018 after four years of freelance writing and editing across multiple gaming and tech sites. When she's not recreating video game foods in a real life kitchen, she's happily imagining herself as an Animal Crossing character.