In the first half of 2025, FINGERTANGO (06860.HK) delivered a concerning performance report. This veteran mobile game operator faces multiple challenges including declining revenue, halved profits, and user attrition, reflecting the immense survival pressure facing mid-tier companies under the gaming industry's trend toward premium and head-concentrated development.
FINGERTANGO's 2025 interim results showed the company achieved operating revenue of 212 million yuan, plummeting 35.5% year-over-year, representing a significant contraction from the full-year 2024 revenue scale of 609 million yuan.
Net profit performance was even more dismal. Profit attributable to owners of the company was only 4.367 million yuan, declining 52.38% year-over-year, compared to full-year 2024 net profit of 32.8 million yuan, showing substantially weakened profitability.
Other financial indicators also showed deteriorating trends. Company gross profit declined to 116 million yuan with margin pressure; administrative expenses increased to 24.907 million yuan, showing significant year-over-year growth; R&D expenses rose to 39.717 million yuan, though the investment effects have yet to materialize.
User data reveals the deep crisis facing FINGERTANGO. In the first half of 2025, the company's average monthly active users decreased to approximately 1.4 million people, down about 73.0% from the same period last year, showing a cliff-like decline.
More concerning is that this user attrition occurred against a backdrop of stable growth in the company's cumulative total registered users (reaching approximately 264.9 million people, up about 3.8% from the same period last year).
This means that while the company possesses a massive user base, activity and engagement are declining sharply, with user conversion capabilities significantly weakened. This situation of "having users but no activity" precisely reflects the common dilemma facing veteran gaming companies.
FINGERTANGO's business crisis stems mainly from two aspects: classic games entering decline and a gap in new game releases.
The company's main game products include "Tank Frontline," "Star Destiny," "My Mission," "Super Fleet," and "War Moments," among others. Most of these games have been operating for many years and have entered the mature late stage of their lifecycle, with naturally declining revenues.
Meanwhile, the company has lacked breakout new games in recent years. Although management stated in the financial report that they are "making strategic adjustments to new game publishing business, with planned new games undergoing comprehensive testing," no heavyweight new products have launched to date.
This product gap has trapped FINGERTANGO in a predicament of "living off past achievements," while the revenue-generating capacity of legacy products is accelerating in decline.
To address declining performance, FINGERTANGO made obvious strategic adjustments by drastically cutting marketing expenses. In the first half of 2025, the company's sales and marketing expenses fell to approximately 53.3 million yuan, decreasing 64.8% year-over-year.
This "cost-cutting" strategy is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it did help the company control costs and avoid greater losses; on the other hand, it directly led to reduced user acquisition and promotional activities, accelerating user attrition.
The company explained: "Sales and marketing resources have been reserved for the development of the Group's next flagship product. This development focus, combined with prudent marketing expenditure, has caused sales and marketing expenses to decline and preserved liquidity for upcoming marketing campaigns for the next flagship product."
FINGERTANGO's predicament contrasts sharply with the overall gaming market. According to data from the Game Publishing Committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, China's gaming market actual sales revenue reached a new high in the first half of 2025, reaching 168 billion yuan, up 14.08% year-over-year.
The mobile gaming market performed particularly strongly, with actual sales revenue reaching 125.309 billion yuan, up 16.55% year-over-year, also setting a new record. Gaming user scale reached 679 million people, with slight growth of 0.72%, reaching a historical high.
This situation of overall market growth coexisting with individual company decline reflects the gaming industry's trend of the strong getting stronger while the weak exit. Leading manufacturers are capturing increasingly larger market shares through strong R&D capabilities and resource investment, while small and medium-sized manufacturers face greater survival pressure.
FINGERTANGO's current predicament partly stems from historical baggage. In January 2025, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announced enforcement action against FINGERTANGO and eight of its former directors for misconduct.
The regulator noted that two business days after listing, FINGERTANGO used 46% of net proceeds from listing to subscribe to unlisted wealth management products, seriously deviating from the intended use of listing proceeds stated in its prospectus.
Between 2018 and 2021, the company granted or extended 22 loans totaling approximately 426.5 million yuan. Most related loans were unsecured, and almost all receivable loans have been impaired. In the 2021 and 2022 annual financial statements, the company made loss provisions of approximately 321 million yuan and 51.57 million yuan respectively for receivable loans.
These historical issues not only caused direct financial losses but also diverted management attention, affecting the company's core business development.
In the rapidly changing gaming industry, there are no permanent winners, only continuous innovation and adaptation. FINGERTANGO's interim results serve as both a warning and a starting point for transformation.