Nexon Announces $2 Billion Special Dividend as MapleStory Drives Record Quarter
The Japanese gaming giant will return approximately ¥324 billion to shareholders following asset divestitures, while its flagship franchise posted 63% year-over-year growth.
Special Dividend Follows Asset Sales
NEXON Co., Ltd. (TSE: 3659) announced a special dividend of ¥415 per share, totaling approximately ¥324 billion or $2 billion, following the divestiture of investments that returned ¥106 billion in principal and generated ¥142 billion in gains. The dividend, expected to be approved by the board in September, will be paid to shareholders registered as of end-September (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
The Tokyo-based gaming company, with a market capitalization of approximately $12 billion, ended Q2 with cash reserves of ¥842 billion. President and CEO Junghun Lee said the special dividend represents "the most direct and equitable way to return that cash to all shareholders," supplementing the company's established policy of returning more than 33% of prior year operating income through buybacks and semiannual dividends (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
MapleStory Franchise Hits Record
Nexon reported Q2 revenue of ¥121.1 billion, up 2% year-over-year and above guidance, while operating income of ¥31.3 billion declined 17% year-over-year but exceeded expectations. The standout performer was the MapleStory franchise, which delivered "another record-setting quarter, growing 63% year-over-year" (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
CFO Shiro Uemura detailed that MapleStory World revenue grew 123% year-over-year, driven by two new user-generated worlds launched in late April: Maple Planet in Korea and Maple Star in Taiwan. MapleStory Idle RPG also exceeded outlook following its April half-anniversary update (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
The First Descendant Exceeds Expectations
The company's new IP, The First Descendant, generated ¥18.3 billion in revenue during Q2 and has produced "more than ¥88 billion since the launch in October last year," with more than 16.3 million units sold (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
Lee positioned the title as validation of Nexon's Western market strategy: "The First Descendant stands as proof that NEXON's Embark Studios team has developed a roadmap for creating and publishing games that can break through in highly competitive Western markets dominated by legacy franchises" (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
The company plans to release Frozen Tide, described as "the largest content update since the launch," in October, featuring new maps, weapons, and a premium reward pass designed to "reenergize the core, bring back dormant users and attract new players" (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
Mixed Performance Across Portfolio
The Dungeon & Fighter franchise met expectations with revenue declining 44% year-over-year, while the FC franchise underperformed. FC Online "did not translate into the traffic lift we had anticipated" during the World Cup period, and FC Mobile faced technical quality issues following an April UI/UX overhaul, though "service quality has since stabilized with traffic recovering since June" (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
Q3 Outlook and Pipeline
For Q3, Nexon expects revenue between ¥120.7 billion and ¥133.4 billion, representing 2% to 12% growth year-over-year on an as-reported basis. The MapleStory franchise is projected to grow approximately 40% year-over-year.
The company's pipeline includes Dave the Diver mobile launching globally September 17, Mabinogi Mobile debuting in Japan in Q4, and multiple titles extending into 2027, including three new games in the Dungeon & Fighter universe (earnings call, 2026-08-13).
This article was generated by MarginX from the earnings call on 2026-08-13. It is not investment advice.