A $20 Billion Company's Future Hinges on The New PUBG (bloomberg.com) 13
The game formerly known as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds accounts for 97% of the revenue of its maker Krafton. Given that the Seoul-based company is valued at almost $20 billion, we have a rough estimate for how much this single game is worth, according to the stock market. A good chunk of that value is in the potential that title holds for expansion. From a report: Krafton has staked its future on making PUBG -- no longer an abbreviation but a brand for a wider intellectual property franchise -- into a big fantasy universe spanning different games and entertainment genres. The first big test of this strategy is PUBG: New State, the mobile sequel that moves the battle royale action to 2051 and adds more advanced weaponry, vehicles and graphics. It arrives on Nov. 11. I haven't played it to be able to tell you how good it will be, but I would be hugely surprised if it turns into anything other than another money printer for Krafton.
The reason for my confidence is simple: The company isn't straying too far from what made the original 2017 game a hit and is mostly changing the cosmetics atop the underlying physics and gameplay. This approach has proven highly successful in the mobile arena. The smartphone game is launching in more than 200 countries and in 17 different languages and has already had more than 50 million preregistrations. Another essential element for mobile success that Krafton taps into is making the game free to play. The vast majority of smartphone app store revenue comes from games, which seems counterintuitive considering that most of those games demand no upfront payment. The real money, however, is in enticing players to make microtransactions within the game, such as personalizing your character with "skins" or buying a pet or better weapons. This is such a big deal that Epic Games took Apple and Alphabet's Google to court over the split of who gets to profit from those addictive little in-game buys in PUBG rival Fortnite.
The reason for my confidence is simple: The company isn't straying too far from what made the original 2017 game a hit and is mostly changing the cosmetics atop the underlying physics and gameplay. This approach has proven highly successful in the mobile arena. The smartphone game is launching in more than 200 countries and in 17 different languages and has already had more than 50 million preregistrations. Another essential element for mobile success that Krafton taps into is making the game free to play. The vast majority of smartphone app store revenue comes from games, which seems counterintuitive considering that most of those games demand no upfront payment. The real money, however, is in enticing players to make microtransactions within the game, such as personalizing your character with "skins" or buying a pet or better weapons. This is such a big deal that Epic Games took Apple and Alphabet's Google to court over the split of who gets to profit from those addictive little in-game buys in PUBG rival Fortnite.
derivative (Score:2)
Aren't there a lot of games like that now? It was fresh in 2017.
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Aren't there a lot smart phones that do what the iPhone does?
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Its like saying there are lot of shoes, but all the kids want Nike.
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All the kids want Fortnite, not PUBG.
Re: PUBG, Apex Legends, and Fortnite all are usefu (Score:1)
Implosion in 3...2...1... (Score:4, Insightful)
Their whole "value" is based on the hopes of the stock market that whatever they do next hits even harder. This, though, is fairly unlikely. One of the core reasons PUBG was a success is that it was one of the first. Since these games are all virtually the same, what PUBG has as its key feature is simply and plainly that people are by now used to it and it's hard to push people out of their comfort zone.
In other words, I wouldn't put a dime on anything else they publish. PUBG was like a lottery jackpot. Thinking that the company will continue to pump out success stories is like reading the memories of some lottery winner, hoping that you'll win the lottery too if you rub the belly of the same lucky charm he did.
Re:Implosion in 3...2...1... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not seeing how this will expand the market. We already have tons of BR MOBAs out there. PUBG was one of the first, but it is going to take a lot more than some new pew-pews and other stuff to get in new players. It might help keep existing players because they have new maps, dances, and new stuff from the store that they can buy, but actually breaking new ground and bringing in players... I'd say that ship has sailed, especially with Fortnite and Apex Legends also constantly improving.
These days, PUBG is one among many.
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Sure, but PUBG is a known brand that has proven to have a dedicated player base that enjoys the game. This is a common model in gaming business, where brand name and gameplay remain the same as you release sequels, which keep attracting the same crowd. Everything from CoD to FIFA to Far Cry to Assassin's Creed to Battlefield comes to mind. Similar games from same publisher that follow the same successful formula under the same brand.
And they keep on selling well. As claims of "but it will implode this time,
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This works mostly because the games in question have no competition. FIFA has no competitor. And while CoG is hardly the only multiplayer FPS in town, the formula is sufficiently different from the others that theirs players will faithfully walk down to buy the next incarnation of the same game once the servers for the "old" version get switched off.
MMOs play in a different league altogether because since you play a monthly fee, these can be milked forever by their makers.
PUBG is a bit of a different beast
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CoG as you note has plenty of competition. FIFA isn't even close to being the only game in town for football - just search for football games and find several. Battlefield is also not the only game for combined arms combat, it's just the most successful one. Same for Far Cry and open world shooters, and Assassin's Creed and open world ARPGs.
Literally none of the games you suggest fit the criteria of "games in question have no competition". They in fact fit the diametrically opposite criteria: "games with ex