‘ARC Raiders’ and the new Maple title drive first-half growth; Q3 will test the durability of the momentum

FY2026-H1 revenue was ¥273,310 million and operating profit was ¥89,447 million, compared with ¥232,784 million and ¥79,309 million, respectively, in the same period of the previous year. Revenue increased 17.4%, while operating profit increased only 12.8%, and the operating margin declined from approximately 34.1% in the same period of the previous year to approximately 32.7%. Accordingly, Q3 should be assessed not only for its revenue scale but also for the profitability of new releases and their ability to absorb costs.

Growth was driven primarily by ‘ARC Raiders’, released globally in October of the previous year, and new releases in the MapleStory franchise. ‘ARC Raiders’ sold approximately 0.8 million additional units in the second quarter of FY2026-H1, taking cumulative sales past 16.3 million units. In Q3, additional unit sales, trends by sales region, and the contribution from live operations and additional content after launch will indicate whether the title can continue supporting results after the initial post-launch sales cycle.

The company has adopted an IP growth strategy combining the revitalisation of existing IP with the launch of new titles. While the first-half materials explain the contribution to revenue from new MapleStory franchise releases, they do not provide quantitative details by title, including MAU, paying users or ARPPU. In Q3, additional disclosure that separates growth in franchise-wide revenue attributable to new releases from that attributable to improved operations of the existing ‘MapleStory’ and peripheral services such as ‘MapleStory Worlds’ would be desirable.

First-half growth was also supported by higher PC online revenue and expansion in Europe and North America, while South Korea’s major titles and mobile revenue continued to face a year-on-year decline from elevated prior-year levels. In cumulative Q3 results, it will be important to confirm where revenue and operating profit stand relative to the company’s forecast range and whether the company is in a position to newly calculate and disclose full-year forecasts.