The Finals Becomes The Next "Forever Franchise" While MapleStory And Others Struggle In Nexon's 2023 Earnings Report

Nexon has released its Q4 and full-year earnings report for 2023, which included record-setting full-year revenue and operating income. Growing revenue was up 20% while operating income was up 30%.

“Despite unforeseen short-term challenges in Q4, Nexon delivered record-setting full-year revenue and operating income in 2023, growing revenue 20% and operating income 30%,” said Owen Mahoney, President and CEO of Nexon. “And the successful launch of THE FINALS is a major step in our strategy for expansion in global markets. THE FINALS’ early performance has surpassed even our expectations, and we believe it is well on track to become Nexon’s next major forever franchise. The development team has been highly focused on incorporating players’ feedback and releasing content updates at a rapid pace. The next major beat is the launch of Season 2, planned for March.”

It sounds like The Finals is doing quite well for itself. The report also states that Dungeon&Fighter Mobile will be coming to China ASAP. Dave the Diver also continues to generate positive revenue for Nexon.

While the full-year revenue breaks records, Q4 wasn't particularly great for Nexon with titles such as MapleStory, FC Online, and Blue Archive underperforming.

Q4 in China saw revenue down 14% year over year and below the ¥15.1 billion outlook. Japan revenue increased 3% and North America increased 78% year over year due to The Finals and Dave the Diver but still below the ¥8.2 billion that was projected. Q4's ¥84.6 billion fell short of projections.

Nexon refers to The Finals as their next "forever franchise" as they work to implement player feedback and new content to the game.