NHN’s gaming business is increasingly centered on two pillars: web board games in South Korea and popular mobile titles in Japan. While traditional card games such as Go-Stop and poker underpin its domestic performance, Japanese subsidiary NHN PlayArt is driving growth with a series of successful titles.
According to NHN on Oct. 21, gaming revenue reached 139.6 billion won in the second quarter, up 21% from a year earlier. Japanese mobile game revenue led growth with a 47% increase, while domestic web board game revenue rose 15%.
NHN’s Japanese gaming operations are centered on subsidiary NHN PlayArt. According to NHN’s 2025 annual report, NHN PlayArt recorded revenue of 145.5 billion won and net income of 22.7 billion won. Revenue increased 9% from 132.8 billion won the previous year, while net income declined 13%.
Its major Japanese titles include LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum, Yo-kai Watch Puni Puni and #Compass, released in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. Yo-kai Watch Puni Puni has surpassed 36 million cumulative downloads in Japan, while #Compass has exceeded 20 million, establishing both as successful titles.
According to NHN, revenue from #Compass jumped 105% quarter on quarter in the second quarter, driven by a collaboration with the anime series Chainsaw Man. In the first quarter, LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum recorded revenue growth of 47% year on year and 94% quarter on quarter, supported by its 12th-anniversary event and a collaboration with Detective Conan.
Meanwhile, NHN’s dependence on Go-Stop and poker is deepening in the Korean gaming market. According to market research firm Sensor Tower, Mobile Hangame Poker ranked first in revenue among poker games in Asia for four consecutive years from 2022 through 2025. Hangame Seotda & Matgo also generated cumulative revenue of 180 billion won from January through August 2025, approaching the earnings scale of a mid-to-large massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
The business gained further momentum in February 2026 when the monthly payment limit for web board games was raised from 700,000 won to 1 million won. NHN said during its previous earnings announcement that web board game revenue increased 11% in the first quarter and 15% in the second quarter following the regulatory relaxation. The company attributed the growth primarily to higher average revenue per user resulting from the eased restrictions.
However, new titles outside the web board segment have struggled. Darkest Days, a shooting role-playing game (RPG) developed in-house by NHN, is scheduled to end its trial service in November. The game had been expected to help diversify NHN’s ecosystem beyond web board games but failed to reach a full commercial launch. The decision comes 19 months after its public testing began.
NHN is reshaping its gaming strategy in response to these trends. At the Tokyo Game Show in September, Kim Sang-ho, head of NHN’s gaming business, said the company would focus on areas where it already has competitive strengths, including casual and web board games, rather than expanding into a wider range of genres.
The company is also pursuing a strategy of introducing titles already proven in Japan to the Korean market. On Oct. 20, NHN opened pre-registration for the puzzle game Oshi no Ko Puzzle Star, which was released in Japan in February 2026. Korean users are therefore being offered pre-registration approximately eight months after the Japanese launch.
NHN is also strengthening its commitment to the Japanese gaming market by participating in the joint development of Fantasy World’s Puchipoyon, a new title from NHN PlayArt.
However, with its major Japanese mobile games now more than a decade old, NHN urgently needs new growth drivers. In an Oct. 12 report, Korea Investment & Securities analyst Jung Ho-yoon forecast NHN’s third-quarter gaming revenue at 136.2 billion won, up 15% year on year but down 2.5% from the previous quarter. “Despite strong performance in web board games, gaming revenue is expected to decline slightly quarter on quarter due to lower Japanese mobile game revenue,” Jung said.
