食料品工場跡で大麻草栽培1千株 男2人を再逮捕 北海道警

South Korean gaming company, NetEase, trailed behing the leader, Tencent, in the second quarter of this year in terms of both revenues and profits. This shift caught the attention of those following the industry. The Seoul-based traded company revealed that its second quarter revenue stood at 1.139 trillion won (121.1 billion yen) and profit at 294.3 billion won (31.3 billion yen).

While last year's same period saw a 2% increase in revenue, profit fell by 17%. In contrast, Tencent reported revenue of 1.2902 trillion won and profit of 4,109 billion won for the same period. Accumulated results over the first half also favored Tencent. NetEase posted its highest quarterly earnings in history with 2.5603 trillion won in revenue and 837.9 billion won in profit in the first half of the year.

However, Tencent posted higher revenues (4.0% or 101.3 billion won) and profits (16.1% or 1,346 billion won) in the same period. NetEase has maintained its position at the top of the domestic gaming industry for over 20 years, except for 2017, until Tencent surpassed it in 2024's Q4, Q1 2025 and Q1 2026 with higher revenues. Despite NetEase's record-breaking first half performance, the company's third major intellectual property, "Dungeon & Fighter", struggled in China, causing a 40% dip in sales compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Tencent's recently launched "Ark Rangers" in North America and Europe boosted its sales, and the company's "Subnautica 2" released in a flash sale on May 25th achieved global sales of 500,000 units, marking its best half-year performance. However, it remains uncertain whether the ranking between NetEase and Tencent will fundamentally change based solely on the second quarter results.

Critics argue that Tencent's dominant reliance on "Battle Royale" for revenue and the limited growth potential of "Subnautica 2", a one-time revenue package game, could hinder a sustained lead. Analyst Jung Hoon from Jeonju Investment Securities noted in Hankyoreh that NetEase and Tencent's primary genres differ, making it challenging to assess their lead based on performance alone.

Furthermore, Tencent's need for a successful live service debut in battle royale and Subnautica 2's strong one-time revenue nature pose challenges for consistent earnings.