[Cho Gye-hyun Park Ye-jin reporter] ‘Odin: Valar Rising’, followed by ‘Umamus Me Pretty Derby’, and expectations for Kakao Games’ lineup in the second half of the year are growing.
According to the game industry on the 5th, Kakao Games (CEO Cho Gye-hyun) succeeded in ranking second in Google Play’s sales in a week.
It is said that Kakao Games has successfully settled the sequel to the cash cow ‘Odin: Valar Rising (Odin)’, which has grown more than doubled in a year.
As a result, 3Q results are expected to lead to increased sales of Odin and Umamus Mega. The second quarter’s earnings are also expected to be strong as the ‘Odin: Shinban’ sales, which were released in Taiwan on March 29, are reflected.
Kakao Games is expected to increase its operating costs as it is known to have invested a large-scale marketing cost before the launch of Umamusme in the second quarter. However, Eugene Investment & Securities researcher said that the company’s operating margin is expected to improve due to the decrease in the payment fee rate as the sales of Odin in the second quarter.
Securities firms view the performance of the new lineup in the second half of the year as the key. Chung said, The successful launch of the new lineup in the second half of the year is more significant because it alleviates the high sales proportion of Odin, following sales growth.
Kakao Games also made strategic investments in the new developer ‘Ocean Drive Studio’ and ‘Second Dive’ in early 2020 to expand IP.
In particular, the MMORPG ‘Ares: Rise of Guardians’ and Nine Arc (CEO Lee) developed by Second Dive (CEO Seung-Chul Ban Seung-cheol) in the second half of the year, etc. It is considered. In addition, PC survival first-person shooting games (FPS) and mobile action RPG ‘Guardis Order’ were also released as a lineup, and Odin’s entry into Japan is also scheduled for 2H.
Kakao Games is also expanding its investment in promising developers. The Kakao Games European subsidiary invested $ 20 million in the US game developer Frost Giant Studio, and in April, US developer ‘Playable Worlds’ It has made a strategic investment worth 10,000 dollars.