Konami isn’t doing what you want, but it’s making loads of money

Earlier this year, we heard that Konami‘s revenue was up on previous years – and now, per the company’s latest financial report (via InstallBase), things are looking even better.

To put it simply, at the start of the most recent financial year, Konami reported that it had ¥202.4B ($1.5 billion) in cash and cash equivalents. Now, at the end of the same financial year, the publisher has ¥250.7B ($1.9B) in cash and cash equivalents – a gain of ¥48.3B. Emboldened by record profits, the company has issued a press release that notes it’s keen on continuing to sell NFTs, suggesting that its move into the market is “an effort to preserve content that has been loved by customers as an art.”

But – other than NFTs – what exactly is making money for the company? Well, over in Japan, the publisher notes that games like Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 4th Heart and Power Pro Kun Pocket R on Switch are doing well. But it seems like the real money-spinners are Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel and eFootball. Konami also operates pachinko machines, which makes up a large portion of the company’s modern gaming portfolio.

Konami has not lately announced many games that most players are after – ergo, more entries in the Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, or Silent Hill series – but we did hear last year that the publisher is “in deep development” on a number of projects.

Back in 2020, it was reported that the publisher was quietly working on two new Silent Hill games, though any evidence of that has yet to manifest. Supposedly, these games take the form of “a soft-reboot of the franchise” and “an episodic TellTale/Until Dawn-style game to go alongside the reboot”.

The publisher’s most notable recent release is GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon – an unexpected follow-up to a Japan-only Famicom game from 1987.