Koei Tecmo Holdings Co. reported a sharp decline in its mobile gaming business as revenue from the segment dropped 39% to 8.63 billion yen ($58 million) in the third quarter, highlighting challenges in the competitive mobile market.
The Japanese game publisher saw its overall revenue fall 14% to 52.57 billion yen in the nine months through December, while operating profit declined 26% to 15.07 billion yen. The company maintained its full-year forecast despite the weaker performance.
The drop in mobile revenue reflects struggling sales of internally developed titles, even as licensed properties like “Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition” maintained steady performance. The company’s entertainment division, which includes console and mobile games, posted a 15% decline in sales to 48.79 billion yen.
The gaming firm is betting on new releases to revive growth, including an upcoming mobile title “Kingdom” being co-developed with Bandai Namco Entertainment. Its recent console game “Fairy Tail 2” sold 120,000 copies in December.
While core gaming operations faltered, Koei Tecmo’s investment portfolio delivered record quarterly gains from financial market operations, helping to offset the weaker gaming performance. The company forecasts full-year net income of 30 billion yen, an 11% decline from the previous year.
