Konami Just Had Its Most Profitable Year Ever Without Focusing On Making Video Games

Konami has had a booming financial year and for a finance novice like me, I think the apt word here is stonks. This is all despite the fact that Konami hasn’t been focusing on any of its major franchises like Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania or Silent Hill. If you did miss it, a leaked first look for the next Silent Hill instalment dropped this morning and it’s definitely worth a peep.

Konami’s most recent financial report proves that the company's revenue is way up on previous years. You may be asking, if not with major franchises, then how? The answer is actually pretty shocking.

If you're a fan of Silent Hill, take a look at this teaser trailer for Slitterhead - a brand new game from Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama.

The report outlines that at the start of the most recent financial year, Konami held ¥202.4 billion ($1.5 billion) in cash and equivalents but by the end of the year, that had grown to ¥250.7 billion ($1.9 billion), which makes for a hefty increase of ¥48.3 billion. The company puts these profits down to the success of Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel and eFootball.

You heard me right. THAT eFootball that quickly became the worst-rated game of 2021 and was critically panned. I struggle to get my head round the idea that eFootball was profitable, let alone a cause for record-breaking earnings. Likewise, Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel hardly springs to mind as a heavy hitter but the company reports that it’s been downloaded over 20 million times. Who knew?

Given that Konami’s pockets are full of fresh green profits, there’s likely to be a lot of attention as to what they’ll get up to next. It’s a cursed answer my dear friends. Prepare yourselves, because Konami are keen to expand and continue their NFT efforts which they believe “preserve content that has been loved by our customers as art.” I pretend I do not see it.