Krafton, the company responsible for PUBG: Battlegroundshas apparently acquired the ascent developer Neon Giant, according to a recent earnings document. The studio is currently hard at work on its next game, which looks set to be quite different from the ascent.
This news comes via Krafton’s Q3 2022 earnings statement, in which the Korean company names Neon Giant, along with The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance, like its European studies. No formal announcement was made about this acquisition, so it came as a surprise.
In any case, Neon Giant, according to Krafton, is currently working on its newest project, which Krafton describes as an “open world FPS.” Obviously, Neon Giant intends to leave behind its third-person zenith roots, although we will have to wait to see if the new FPS takes place in the same universe as the ascent.
If you’re a finance nerd, you’ll appreciate some of the other information that’s available in Krafton’s earnings presentation. The benefit of the study has risen 17% compared to the last quarter, with PUBG being a good generator of money for the company. At the console, Krafton says subnautics continued to generate solid revenue in the third quarter, so last year’s purchase of Unknown Worlds probably looks like an increasingly solid investment for the Korean giant.
Looking ahead, Krafton is laying a lot of its eggs in the Callisto Protocol basket. The game will have a large-scale global marketing campaign to support it, with Krafton saying previews have been “overwhelmingly positive”. Of course, the company doesn’t mention the brutal crisis Striking Distance is apparently putting its employees through to finish the game. Guess that’s not the kind of thing you’d normally find on an earnings report, huh?
We’ll bring you more about Neon Giant and its upcoming projects as soon as we have it. In the meantime, you can pick up the studio’s cyberpunk looting shooter. the ascent on PC (where it’s currently 67% off, at least if you buy it on Steam), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation consoles right now. It is also available through Xbox Game Pass.