Rune Factory developer Marvelous reports 92% drop in profit due to a lack of new game releases 

Story of Seasons and Rune Factory developer Marvelous published their consolidated earnings report for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 2025 (source: GameBiz). During the period between April and September 2024, the company saw a significant decrease in earnings, with net sales being down 8% year-on-year and net profit dropping by 92.9%. 

According to Marvelous, the main factors behind the weak performance are a lack of core game releases this year both in Japan and overseas. Earnings were further influenced by foreign exchange losses, as well as costs involved in replacing arcade machines. 

The company’s video game sector saw net profit decrease by 33.3% compared to last year, but thankfully, Marvelous has two new titles lined up. One of these is the brand-new IP Farmagia, which launches on November 1 for the PC (Steam), PS5 and Nintendo Switch. But the developer’s “core” release will be Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. The latest entry to Marvelous’s flagship IP is scheduled to launch in Spring 2025 for the PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch, but the company is not yet sure if the release date will be within the current fiscal year (which ends on March 31, 2025). 

Marvelous’s full-year earnings forecast remains unchanged, as follows: 

Net sales: 29 to 32 billion yen (up 1.7% to 8.5% year-on-year) 
Operating profit: 1.5 to 2 billion yen (down 37.9% to 17.2% year-on-year) 
Ordinary profit: 1.5 to 2 billion yen (down 50.0% to 33.4% year-on-year) 
Net profit: 1 to 1.4 billion yen