Nexon achieved its highest revenue performance ever for 2025 because ARC Raiders originated from its international growth efforts
Nexon Co., Ltd. has released its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. The company achieved record high full year revenue because of the breakout success of ARC Raiders and the ongoing success of the MapleStory franchise. The company experienced profit increases but its profit margins suffered because of revenue deferral and a refund event that occurred once in its mobile business operations.
Nexon has expanded its revenue base while facing technical and operational challenges which are evident from its core financial results.
The company generated revenue of ¥475102 million which represents a 6.5 percent increase when compared to the previous year. The company reported an operating profit of ¥124012 million which represents a 0.1 percent decrease from the previous year. The company reported a profit for owners which decreased by 31.7 percent to reach ¥92052 million. The company holds a strong cash position because its balance sheet indicates over ¥800 billion in cash assets at the end of the fiscal year.
The company experienced a revenue decline because it deferred ¥27.7 billion in ARC Raiders revenue until 2026 and suffered foreign exchange losses instead of gaining revenue which happened in the previous fiscal year.
2025 marked a pivotal year for Nexon because the company introduced its first western market IP. Embark Studios developed ARC Raiders which sold 14 million units within 15 weeks. The game reached its maximum player base of 960,000 concurrent users while maintaining approximately 6 million players who log in each week which contradicts the standard pattern of rapid player decline seen with new games.
The MapleStory franchise experienced its first major growth year which resulted in 43 percent annual revenue growth. The game achieved its highest revenue collection during its 22 years of operation in Korea. MABINOGI MOBILE added to the company's portfolio by winning the "Game of the Year" award in Korea after its March launch.
The fourth quarter was impacted by a coding error in MapleStory: Idle RPG regarding paid items. The company management decided to refund all purchases which customers made between November 2025 and January 2026. The company experienced Q4 revenue loss of ¥9 billion which included a ¥4 billion reduction to its operating income. Nexon predicts its revenue will decrease by ¥5 billion during Q1 2026 when customers return products.
The year 2025 marks the most significant point in Nexon history because it shows the company can turn its concepts into actual products. Nexon operated as a regional powerhouse for several years because of its success with Dungeon&Fighter and other traditional Asian games. The success of ARC Raiders shows that Nexon has the ability to create and maintain major AAA games for Western audiences on both console platforms and Steam services.
The management team chose to refund all customers who faced issues with MapleStory: Idle RPG despite this decision bringing high costs during the initial period because this action preserves the company's EEAT standards. In a live service economy, player trust is more valuable than a single quarter's margins.
The management team believes that the current stock price undervalues their new revenue sources because they have implemented an aggressive shareholder return policy which includes doubling the dividend and executing ¥100 billion in buybacks.
Nexon begins its 2026 operations with strong business momentum. The company projects that Q1 2026 revenue will increase between 32 percent and 44 percent compared to the same period from the previous year. Important future events will include
- Japan will receive the launch of MABINOGI MOBILE.
- Dungeon&Fighter (PC) and MapleStory will receive major content updates.
- The company will continue expanding its MapleStory Worlds operations throughout different regions.
The company plans to pay its shareholders a dividend of ¥60 per share in 2026 which represents an increase from the previous year's dividend of ¥45 while the company intends to distribute 33 percent of its operating income to its shareholders.
