(LEAD) Netmarble remains in red in Q4

SEOUL, Netmarble Corp., a major South Korean game developer and publisher, said Wednesday it remained in the red in the fourth quarter from a year earlier due to sluggish sales. The company said in a regulatory filing it logged a net loss of 195 billion won (US$146.9 million) in the last three months of 2023, narrowing from a net deficit of 436.6 billion won. Operating income for the October-December period was 17.7 billion won, compared with a loss of 24.1 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 3.2 percent on-year to 664.9 billion won. The game developer said its fourth quarter sales in South Korea increased 3 percentage points from a year ago on demand for its role playing game (RPG) released in September, Seven Knights Idle Adventure, but its overseas sales decreased to 534 billion won from 580.9 billion won a year ago. In the fourth quarter, 45 percent of total sales came from North America, 20 percent from South Korea, 12 percent from Europe, 9 percent from Southeast Asia and 6 percent from Japan. By g ame genre, casual games accounted for 43 percent of quarterly sales, followed by RPGs and massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) both at 9 percent. By product, Marvel Contest of Champions raised 12 percent of total sales in the fourth quarter, followed by Jackpot World, a casino game, at 9 percent, Seven Knights Idle Adventure at 8 percent and Cash Frenzy at 7 percent. Netmarble plans to release four new titles this year, including MMORPGs, Arthdal Chronicles: Three Factions and Raven 2. Source: Yonhap News Agency