Krafton¡¯s chair comforts employees amid nosediving stock

Krafton chairman Jang Byung-gyu

Krafton Inc., the Korean gaming game developer behind PUBG whose stock has been nosediving since spectacular debut on the Kospi last year, endeavored to comfort employees for deteriorated wealth, but fell short of detailing out actions to bolster stock value.

The disappointment in the much-awaited New State game, external factors such as a decline in global liquidity and mixed judgment on the stock value have weighed down the stock, Jang Byung-gyu, chairman of Krafton, said Tuesday in a letter to employees.

PUBG: New State, Krafton¡¯s mobile spinoff of PUBG: Battlegrounds, failed to live up to expectations, receiving low ratings on app stores due to graphic issues and crashes. Jang argued the stock could rebound, but did not specify actions to aid it.

Shares went on touching new lows. They lost 3.6 percent Tuesday to finish at 291,000 won, the first close under 300,000 won since listing and off more than 40 percent from initial public offering price..

According to Krafton¡¯s securities issuance report that was disclosed before its listing in August last year, the employee stock ownership association was allocated with a total of 351,525 shares at initial offering price of 498,000 won.

Krafton employees who received loans from Korea Securities Finance Corporation to acquire stocks may have to liquidate their stocks if they are unable to maintain a certain ratio of share collateral due to falling stock prices. Some employees reportedly borrowed hundreds of millions of won to purchase stocks.

Jang remains optimistic about the future of PUBG: New State. PUBG announced on Jan. 12 that PUBG: Battlegrounds is now free-to-play (F2P) on PC and consoles. The F2P transition was initially announced last month at The Game Awards (TGA). The transition to live service monetization model will signal the start of a new era, according to Jang.

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