South Korean publisher Krafton has reported record-high annual revenue after its PUBG franchise delivered double-digit growth.
As noted in the company’s fiscal report for the year ended December 31, 2025, annual revenue increased by 22.8 percent year-on-year to KRW 3.3 trillion ($2.26 billion). Operating profit totalled KRW 1.05 trillion ($720.4 million) over the same period.
Breaking that revenue figure down by business segment, Krafton recorded KRW 1.2 trillion from PC, KRW 1.7 trillion from mobile, KRW 42.8 billion from console, and KRW 358.5 billion from others.
Discussing the performances of specific franchises, Krafton said PUBG: Battlegrounds reached its highest annual revenue total on PC platforms after delivering 16 percent growth on a year-over-year basis.
New releases inZOI and Mimesis contributed to revenue growth after surpassing 1 million sales each since launching in March and October 2025, respectively.
PUBG Mobile also expanded its core fanbase through the launch of new themed modes and updates. “Additional growth was supported by cross-platform collaborations with PUBG PC and console, reinforcing a virtuous cycle across the broader PUBG IP Franchise and generating long-term growth momentum,” added Krafton.
Krafton reiterates pledge to become an industry leader in ‘future-facing AI innovation’
Looking ahead, Krafton intends to continue doubling down on major franchises, either by bolstering support for its existing slate or acquiring new properties through M&A.
“To secure new Big Franchise IPs, Krafton will explore large-scale M&A opportunities targeted at generating immediate financial performance, while also pursuing small-to mid-scale M&A transactions to boost value by securing IPs with high growth potential,” reads the fiscal report.
“The company is also advancing strategic equity investments and second-party publishing (2PP) of teams with projects nearing release or demonstrated development capabilities. In terms of first-party production, Krafton is developing 15 new projects supported by newly recruited creative leadership and elite, small-scale teams.
“Krafton plans to further expand its development pipeline through its learn-fast, scale-up approach. In line with this strategy, new titles such as Subnautica 2, Palworld Mobile, Dinkum Together, and NO LAW are gearing up for launch as Krafton strengthens its IP lineup across a wide range of genres and platforms.”
The company also intends to evolve PUBG as a “gameplay platform” by upgrading to Unreal Engine 5 and expanding support for user-generated content (UGC).
Notably, Krafton stressed it will prioritize “future-facing AI innovation” and is focused on “delivering new gameplay experiences powered by AI and innovation across production and live service operations.” That pledge comes after the company debuted generative AI companions it claims will exhibit “human-like” behavior.
As noted in an investor presentation (available to download here), the company outlined plans to adopt a “long-shot approach” to AI technology by leveraging its core gaming capabilities to expand into physical AI. More specifically, the company said its generative AI machinations could eventually unlock other business opportunities related to “Humanoid Robotics.”
Explaining how that might happen. Krafton said in-game play and interaction data might have value as “high-quality training data” for new businesses. The company also reiterated plans to overhaul its internal structure to incorporate AI-driven automation.
Ultimately, Krafton said AI is viewed as a “key driver” capable of delivering “future innovation and value expansion.” That might be music to the ears of some investors, but the latest State of the Game Industry survey indicated rank-and-file developers are feeling decidedly less positive about the potential impact of generative AI on the video game industry.