South Korean games publisher Krafton, the company behind PUBG: Battlegrounds, reported a sharp fall in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, even as sales rose, after foreign exchange losses pushed it into the red.

Revenue for the July to September quarter rose 11.6 per cent from a year earlier to 971.4 billion won, according to the company's results. Operating profit, however, fell 35.5 per cent to 225.0 billion won, and Krafton swung to a net loss of 68.4 billion won, compared with a profit of 369.4 billion won in the same quarter last year.

Currency losses behind the swing

The company booked a non-operating loss of 305.8 billion won in the quarter, including 277.8 billion won of foreign exchange-related losses, which turned an operating profit into a bottom-line loss. It was Krafton's second consecutive quarterly net loss, after a 29.9 billion won loss in the second quarter.

Krafton said the drop in operating profit reflected fewer intellectual property collaborations for its flagship game PUBG: Battlegrounds compared with a year earlier, as well as higher spending on new projects and costs linked to its appearance at the Gamescom trade fair in Germany.

Mobile carries the quarter as PC sales fall

Mobile was the strongest part of the business, bringing in 504.3 billion won, up 3.2 per cent year on year. PC revenue fell 32.5 per cent to 238.9 billion won, while console revenue was 8.6 billion won and other revenue, including the advertising and content business of its Japanese unit ADK Group, reached 219.6 billion won.

Despite the weak quarter, the first nine months of 2026 were the best in Krafton's history on a cumulative basis. Revenue for January to September rose 50.9 per cent to 3.63 trillion won, and operating profit increased 13.8 per cent to 1.20 trillion won. Cumulative operating profit alone reached 114 per cent of the company's full-year operating profit for 2025.

Buybacks and plans for the final quarter

Krafton said it had returned 617.2 billion won to shareholders so far in 2026 and planned a further 300 billion won share buyback and cancellation in the fourth quarter, taking the year's total to 917.2 billion won.

For the final quarter, the company said it would broaden its player base by diversifying gameplay experiences, expanding its mobile presence in emerging markets and strengthening the PUBG brand. Investors will be watching whether the flagship game can recover on PC and whether the new projects now absorbing investment begin to pay off in 2027.