The Japanese game publisher GungHo has released their latest financial figures and they’re, looking very positive.
In the first nine months of the year, the mobile company generated $1.22 billion dollars in revenue, 14.3% more than in the first nine months of 2013. That means that GungHo is making $4.5 million every day. This rise in revenue has resulted in an operating profit of $680 million, up 7.2% from last year’s results. For the company to achieve a profit margin of over 50% is simply incredible. It doesn’t look like GungHo’s success is going to end any time soon, as the publisher expects to earn a further $120 million from sales in October 2014.
GungHo’s success can largely be attributed to their hit mobile game, Puzzle & Dragons. Released in Japan on iOS in February 2012, this puzzle game quickly grew to become the country’s top-selling mobile app. It is now also available on Android and has been downloaded over 30 million times in Japan alone. As with most hit games, Puzzle & Dragons is free to play. It makes its money from selling in-game currency. GungHo published a sequel called Puzzle & Dragons Z on the 3DS last year, and back in July they released a major update for the mobile game called Puzzle & Dragons W. In 2013, the game accounted for 91% of GungHo’s revenue, and the figure for this year is likely to be similar.
In terms of their future plans, GungHo wants to rapidly expand into foreign markets. The company is opening a new branch in Singapore that will enable them to reach more players in East Asia. In terms of the US, GungHo recently acquired a 70% share of the social gaming network PlayPhone. They have also agreed to publish the next title from indie developer 17-bit, Galak-Z: The Dimensional.
Gamers who havn’t heard of Puzzle & Dragons may know GungHo as the firm that acquired Suda 51’s studio Grasshopper Manufacturer. GungHo will be publishing the developer’s PlayStation 4 exclusive Let it Die, which is due out next year.
