South Korean conglomerate Kakao has achieved a milestone, crossing the $4 billion USD threshold in user spending.

According to a report shared by mobile analyst AppMagic, Kakao has hit $4 billion USD in user spending with ODIN: Valhalla Rising leading the charge.

In the report, it was noted that ODIN: Valhalla Rising leads the revenue contributions by 25%, while Kakao’s other applications such as KakaoTalk contribute 23%, KakaoPage with 9%, and Guardian Tales with 8% contribution.

According to AppMagic’s analysis, Kakao experienced a substantial. boost in revenue followed the launch of ODIN: Valhalla Rising, which led to a four-month peak in earnings.

The surge, however, eventually stabilized to an average monthly income of $40 million USD, and this pattern follows with any new game releases including the Korean release of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby in July 2022 and Ares: Rise of Guardians in May 2023.

Downloads and Market Split

As for downloads, KakaoTalk contributes to the largest percentage of downloads, followed by Melon and KakaoPage.

Meanwhile, Guardian Tales is noted as the most downloaded game, with a lifetime total of 15.7 million installs.

In terms of regional performance, South Korea is the dominant market for Kakao with its contribution of 87% of total revenue, while Japan and Taiwan followed after, contributing 4% and 3% respectively.

The download statistics followed a similar pattern with 84% of total downloads originating from South Korea while Japan and the U.S.A. contributed a smaller percentage of downloads.

In regards to platform performances, Google Play leads with 65% of total revenue, while the Apple App Store accounts for the remaining 35%.

Top Performers

KakaoTalk

A notable thing AppMagic pointed out for KakaoTalk is that its revenue and downloads experienced a drastic decline from 2017 to 2023, with its lowest point in 2022.

AppMagic noted how KakaoTalk is not the only one experiencing a decline as South Korea’s messenger market has been facing a downtrend with the redistribution of the main audience that is left to Telegram and WhatsApp.

In attempts to improve KakaoTalk positions, Kakao applied many new advertising strategies such as the Talk Board, enhancing commerce functions, as well as including webtoons and media, increasing its sales by 30% this year.

KakaoPage

On another side of Kakao’s portfolio is KakaoPage, which has seen a fourfold increase in monthly revenue since May 2022.

The analysis noted that the surge is influenced by the growing popularity of webtoons, which increased from 20.3% in 2018 to 29.9% in 2022.

Some notable factors include the releases of anticipated webtoons such as “Secret Relationship”, “A Business Proposal”, and “Grave Robber-King” and the popularity of webtoons to K-Drama series adaptations that are streamed on major platforms such as Netflix and Prime.

Kakao’s plan to increase its overseas sales to 30% of its total by 2025 and KakaoPage’s expansion to Indonesia also contributed to the application’s significant growth.

ODIN: Valhalla Rising

Last but not least, the largest revenue contributor for Kakao is ODIN: Valhalla Rising, a Norse mythology-inspired MMORPG for both mobile and PC.

The game saw revenue soar to $47 million USD monthly after its launch and is touted as the first mobile game to use 3D scanning and motion capture.

Developed with a $9 million investment from Kakao and WeMade Entertainment, the game is currently predominantly popular in the Asian market, especially in South Korea with 88% of its total revenue.

Kakao Games have planned a North American and European release of ODIN: Valhalla Rising for Q4 2023.

In conclusion, AppMagic noted that Kakao’s $4 billion USD in user spending milestone is reflected in its diverse portfolio, and despite market challenges, the company was resilient and adapted to changes, positioning itself for continued growth and expansion in global markets.