Nexon Q4 2025 earnings report: ¥9 billion coding error wipes bottom line in a record-revenue quarter
Summary
Nexon's Q4 2025 earnings report shows revenue of ¥123.6 billion (↑55% YoY), but net income fell 66% to ¥10.9 billion
A ¥27.7 billion ARC Raiders revenue deferral and a ¥9 billion MapleStory: Idle RPG refund obligation distort headline figures
A single undetected coding error produced an estimated ¥14 billion total revenue hit across Q4 and Q1 2026
"ARC Raiders is a proof point in our global expansion strategy, demonstrating Nexon has the creative teams, operating model, and live operations capability to sustain global releases at scale"
01
ARC Raiders' ¥27.7 billion deferral inflates Q1 2026, not Q4
ARC Raiders required ¥27.7 billion in deferred revenue recognition; over half shifts into Q1 2026
That deferral equals 22% of Q4's reported ¥123.6 billion top line
Q4's 55% YoY growth is structurally front-loaded by mechanics that will inflate future quarters
960,000 peak concurrent users in January and three months atop Steam's Top Sellers support conversion
02
MapleStory: Idle RPG coding error creates ¥14 billion P&L exposure
A coding error misapplied a paid item's stated value; it was corrected internally without notifying players or management
Full refunds on all pre-January 28 purchases cost ¥9 billion in Q4 revenue and ¥4 billion in Q4 operating income
Q1 2026 guidance already embeds an additional ¥5 billion revenue and ¥3 billion operating income hit
Total exposure from a single QA failure in a title that held Korea's #1 app store spot for 10+ weeks: ¥14 billion revenue, ¥7 billion operating income
03
Core franchise growth partially offsets the damage
MapleStory franchise revenue grew 54% YoY in Q4 and 43% for the full year, a 22-year record
Korea MapleStory full-year revenue rose 78% YoY; PC cafe share hit a record 45%
Dungeon&Fighter PC Korea achieved record revenue in its 20th year, up 108% YoY
Three largest franchises held flat at ¥331.5 billion; horizontal (new IP) revenues grew 25% to ¥143.6 billion
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