Pixel P&L: Krafton Reports Record $2.05B Revenue as BGMI Paying Users Surge 27%

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 6 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

• Krafton hits record $2.05B revenue as BGMI outpaces PUBG Mobile with 27% paying user growth.

• Discord mandates age verification for all users starting March, limiting unverified accounts after troubled rollouts in the UK and Australia.

• Square Enix sales drop 13% on weak new releases, but raises profit forecast to $351M on catalog strength.

• Ubisoft scraps 'AC League', its multiplayer Assassin's Creed project, leaving over a quarter of studio staff unassigned.

• Microsoft considers merging PC Game Pass with Premium tier and bundling third-party services.

Let's get into it.

Krafton Posts Record $2.05 Billion Revenue as BGMI Gains Traction

Krafton reported record 2025 earnings of ₩3 trillion ($2.05 billion), up 22.8% year-over-year, as its PUBG franchise delivered double-digit growth across platforms. Operating profit reached ₩1.05 trillion ($717.5 million).

Mobile led revenue at $1.1 billion, with Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) posting 27% growth in paying users, outpacing PUBG Mobile's 5% increase. The India-exclusive title gained ground through localized skins, premium items, and partnerships with domestic brands, cementing its status as a national game.

PC revenue hit $196.4 million in Q4, up 24.4%, driven by PUBG: Battlegrounds collaborations with luxury brands and artists. Console games Inzoi and Mimesis each surpassed one million units sold.

Krafton plans to return $205 million in dividends and repurchase $478.3 million in shares, with an initial $136.6 million buyback starting February 10. The publisher has 15 games in development, including Subnautica 2 and Palworld Mobile, while accelerating its AI-first strategy announced last October.

Discord Mandates Age Verification for All Users Starting March

Discord will require age verification for all users beginning March, limiting unverified accounts to "teen-appropriate" experiences. The move follows similar restrictions from Roblox, which now requires age checks for chat access.

Users must verify age through facial estimation scans or official ID submission to vendor partners. Unverified accounts lose access to age-restricted channels, direct message settings, stage speaking privileges, and sensitive content filters.

The rollout comes after troubled implementations in the UK and Australia, where users bypassed checks using Death Stranding's photo mode and a vendor breach exposed 70,000 IDs. Discord says video selfies won't leave devices and documents are deleted immediately after confirmation.

The timing matters for Discord's business model. The platform, claiming over 200 million users, is preparing for public listing while serving as a marketing hub for game publishers building pre-release buzz. Teen restrictions could reshape community access.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Square Enix Sales Drop 13% as New Titles Underperform, Profit Forecast Raised

Square Enix reported nine-month net sales of ¥215.4 billion ($1.3 billion), down 13.3% year-over-year, citing weak new releases. Operating income rose 39% to ¥46.3 billion ($295.7 million) on catalog sales. The publisher raised its full-year profit forecast to ¥55 billion ($351 million) from ¥41 billion, crediting improved Digital Entertainment margins and higher-than-expected royalty income.

Ubisoft Scraps Multiplayer Assassin's Creed Title Amid Restructuring

Ubisoft halted development on 'AC League,' a multiplayer Assassin's Creed project intended as DLC for Shadows, according to IGN. The co-op title from Ubisoft Annecy was canceled last week despite a May alpha test, leaving over a quarter of the studio's 270 employees without assignments. The cancellation follows broader restructuring that axed six games and 200 Paris jobs.

Microsoft Considers Merging PC Game Pass with Premium Tier

Microsoft is exploring merging PC Game Pass with Xbox Game Pass Premium and bundling additional third-party services, The Verge reports. PC Game Pass currently costs $16.49 monthly for PC-only access, while Premium offers cross-platform play. No changes are expected in 2026 following October's $29.99 Ultimate price increase. PC Game Pass subscriptions continue growing. AMD recently indicated the next Xbox console could launch in 2027 as a PC-console hybrid.

⚔️Side Quest

🤣Laugh:

📺 Watch: Ad Hoc Studio's Nick Herman explains why raising $15 million for a narrative game is harder than raising $50 million for AAA. Despite having Telltale vets and Aaron Paul attached, publishers called story-driven games "too risky" until Critical Role stepped in. Herman reveals why your script must work in plain text before adding visuals.

🎮 Play: TR-49 throws you into confusing interface puzzles that slowly reveal a mystery blending real and imaginary literature. Expect cryptography, logic problems, and math-based codes that require connecting dots across unconventional UI. The compressed experience (completable in days) rewards players who enjoyed books like S by Doug Dorst. 

📚 Read: A high schooler applied to Valve in 2015 and got rejected, but the rejection letter changed his life. A recruiter explained why Valve hires seasoned talent, then told the high school applicant what actually matters: dedication, customer focus, and just making games. "The most important thing is the 'doing' and 'creating.'" Ten years later, the rejected kid now runs his own indie studio and credits this rejection with keeping him in the industry.

💡Did You Know

In 2000, illusionist Uri Geller sued Nintendo for £60 million over the Pokémon character Kadabra. Geller argued the psychic-type Pokémon unlawfully used his identity: it bends spoons with telekinetic powers, mirroring his famous stage act. The character's Japanese name, "Yungerer," phonetically resembled his surname, strengthening his case. Nintendo never officially responded, but Kadabra vanished from the Pokémon Trading Card Game for two decades. The dispute ended in 2020 when Geller publicly apologized and gave Nintendo permission to resume using the character. Kadabra returned to card sets in 2022, ending one of gaming's strangest legal battles.

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