Gaming
Krafton tops KRW 3 trillion as Pubg drives record revenue
Strong mobile growth and new titles lift the gaming giant to a record breaking year
SEOUL: Krafton has had a blockbuster year, and the numbers read like a high score screen. The South Korean game maker posted annual revenue of KRW 3.3266 trillion for 2025, a 22.8 per cent jump from the previous year and the first time the company has crossed the KRW 3 trillion mark. Operating profit stood at KRW 1.0544 trillion, comfortably above the trillion-won line once again.
At the heart of the surge was the ever reliable Pubg franchise, which continued to pull in players and profits across platforms. On PC, Pubg: Battlegrounds delivered its strongest annual performance yet, with revenue up 16 per cent year on year. Fresh collaborations with global artists, luxury brands and even Porsche kept the game’s world lively and the player base engaged.
Mobile remained the company’s biggest earner. Pubg Mobile and Battlegrounds Mobile India both expanded their paying user base, rising by 5 per cent and 27 per cent respectively. India in particular stayed a stronghold, with BGMI maintaining steady performance through localised content and brand tie ups.
New titles also chipped in. Life simulator inZOI and horror survival game Mimesis each crossed the one million sales mark after launching in March and October. Together, they added fresh momentum to Krafton’s PC business.
For the full year, revenue was split across KRW 1.7407 trillion from mobile, KRW 1.1846 trillion from PC, KRW 42.8 billion from console and KRW 358.5 billion from other businesses. The “other” segment saw a sharp rise after the consolidation of ADK Group and Neptune.
The fourth quarter told a slightly different story. Revenue reached KRW 919.7 billion, but operating profit fell to KRW 2.4 billion after a one time expense linked to a labour welfare fund for the company’s upcoming headquarters move.
Looking ahead, Krafton is betting on longer life cycles for its major franchises and a steady pipeline of new games. The company has 15 projects in development, including Subnautica 2, Palworld Mobile and several new titles built around the Pubg universe. It also plans to pursue acquisitions to secure fresh intellectual property and fuel future growth.
Artificial intelligence is another big piece of the plan. Under its “AI for Games” push, Krafton aims to use AI across development and live services, while exploring broader tech opportunities in the longer term.
For now, though, the message is simple. As long as players keep dropping into battlegrounds, Krafton’s scorecard is likely to keep climbing.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
