Nexon Posts Record Q1 As ARC Raiders Passes 16 Million Sold

Nexon opened 2026 with its strongest first quarter ever, helped by a huge western breakout for ARC Raiders and continued growth from the MapleStory franchise.

The company reported ¥152.2 billion in Q1 revenue, up 34% year over year, while operating income climbed 40% to ¥58.2 billion. PC and console were the big winners, rising 52% year over year, while mobile slipped 5%.

The headline game is ARC Raiders, which Nexon says has now sold more than 16 million units worldwide. In Q1 alone, it added 4.6 million units, reaching 15.5 million by the end of March. More than half of active players have spent over 100 hours in the game, for a combined total above 1.5 billion hours.

Nexon is planning a major Frozen Trail update for October, with free content and premium content aimed at both returning and new players. The game has also received an ISBN license in China, with multiple closed beta tests planned for 2026.

For MMO readers, MapleStory was the other major story. Franchise revenue grew 42% year over year, driven by MapleStory: Idle RPG and MapleStory Worlds, Nexon’s creation platform built around MapleStory assets. Global MapleStory also grew 8% year over year, helped by western performance.

Not everything was up. Dungeon&Fighter (Dungeon Fighter Online) had a mixed quarter, with China PC growing double digits but mobile declining. Nexon also expects the franchise to decline again in Q2, though Tencent is now handling more of the China mobile development for stronger local tuning.

The pipeline is broad, with several titles that should matter to MMO and online RPG players.

Nexon expects Q2 to be its softest quarter of the year, but the bigger picture is clear: ARC Raiders has changed Nexon’s global profile, and MapleStory is becoming more than one old MMO.

Source: Nexon Q1 2026 investor presentation.