[Edaily Reporter An Yu-ri ] "We will prioritize Kakao Games Corp.’s corporate value and shareholder value above all else in every decision."

Kakao Games Corp.(293490)As the company embarks on a major business restructuring under its new management structure, Kim Tae-hwan, co-CEO of Kakao Games Corp., made this statement on the 5th during the Q2 2026 earnings call, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of “trust.”

Kakao Games Corp. plans to fully implement a “selection and focus” strategy, restructuring businesses with low core competitiveness or limited synergy—or those struggling to generate consistent results—and concentrating secured resources on competitive games and core IP.

Furthermore, following shareholder returns through the cancellation of treasury shares last July, the company announced plans for management to purchase treasury shares and to implement a Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) program for employees, presenting “restoring trust” as the key theme of the new management system.

The company once again drew a clear line regarding rumors of a merger with Line Games.

CEO Kim emphasized, “We receive many questions, both officially and unofficially, regarding our relationship with Line Games, but as I have mentioned before, we have no plans to pursue a merger with Line Games, and our position remains unchanged.”

He continued, “While we may consider opportunities for synergistic collaboration from a business perspective, these would fall within the scope of general business partnerships, and we will prioritize enhancing shareholder value for Kakao Games Corp. above all else.” He added, “Since Line Yahoo has invested significant funds, it is interested in enhancing Kakao Games Corp.’s corporate value.”

Kakao Games Corp. reported an operating loss of 23 billion won in the second quarter, with the deficit widening compared to the previous year. Regarding this, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Shin Kwon-ho said, “We view the second and third quarters as the trough for revenue. Starting in the fourth quarter, the effects of new game launches will be fully reflected, making a meaningful contribution to revenue, and we expect to return to profitability starting in the first quarter of next year.”

CEO Kim said, “We will efficiently curb organizational expansion and improve our cost structure by increasing outsourcing,” adding, “We will expand the range of payment methods to lower payment processing fees over the medium to long term and gradually improve our cloud infrastructure by diversifying our vendors.”

New Game Release Schedule Readjusted Following Thorough Review… “We Take the Erosion of Trust Very Seriously”

The first task undertaken by the new leadership is the reorganization of projects. Based on the decision to release only games with a high level of “completion” to the market following a thorough review, some release schedules were adjusted during this earnings announcement.

“Odin Q: Valkyrie’s Call,” originally slated for release in the second half of this year, has been rescheduled for January of next year following a comprehensive review of market conditions and the company’s internal portfolio to enhance its long-term service competitiveness.

“ArcheAge Chronicles” and “God Save Birmingham” are each preparing service plans that incorporate global user feedback through early access in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, respectively.

“Chrono Odyssey” is adjusting its launch schedule to ensure polish and optimization, and plans to actively engage with global users through testing and other channels.

“The World of Goblins” has completed development and entered the service preparation phase; following pre-registration in August, the company is accelerating preparations for a launch in October.

Co-CEO Lee Si-woo stated during a conference call on the 5th, “We take seriously the fact that market confidence in our release schedules has weakened due to delays in the launch of several new titles.”

He continued, “Following the huge success of ‘Odin,’ the company attempted to make too big a leap by focusing on large-scale projects,” adding, “We streamlined projects that needed to be phased out earlier this year, and the remaining projects are now in the final stages of development—all that’s left is to launch them as planned—so the schedule announced today will be adhered to without major changes.”

Continued Acquisition of New IP… Plans for M&A Worth Tens of Billions of Won

Efforts to expand the new portfolio are also underway on multiple fronts. In July and August, Kakao Games Corp. successively added new titles targeting the global gaming market—such as “Guardian Maiden” and “ArcheAge S: Strait of Freedom”—to its lineup.

The company is also considering game development and service in collaboration with Thegim Entertainment, a webtoon production company that owns the “Manager Kim” and “Looks-First Society” IPs. Market research is also underway to target the global market for players aged 50 and older.

Co-CEO Kim stated, “We will gradually expand our portfolio by selectively acquiring popular genres, such as sports and casual games, as well as proven Steam-based titles.” He added, “While we will maintain MMORPGs as a core pillar, we will not rely solely on them; instead, we will increase the global revenue share across various genres to build a balanced business portfolio.”

The company also plans to pursue mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to secure intellectual property (IP). Co-CEO Kim said, “Our top priority will be acquiring games or development studios with proven performance and key metrics,” adding, “We do not currently have the financial capacity to forcefully pursue large-scale M&A deals worth hundreds of billions of won right away, so we plan to start with deals worth tens of billions of won and gradually increase the scale.”