Reading a esports team's profitability through its publicly-listed parent company. Focus on 2025, the rebranding year that followed the 2024 miracle.
Afreeca Freecs, then Kwangdong Freecs, then DN Freecs, has changed names for the fourth time in under a decade. It now goes by DN SOOPers, a fusion of its naming sponsor DN Solutions and the streaming platform that owns 100 % of the team, SOOP (formerly AfreecaTV).
Yet another fresh start? A breakdown of a unique LCK team posting its third consecutive year of profits.
A Decade in Fast-Forward
Before diving into 2025, a quick recap.
The company was incorporated in June 2017 under the Afreeca Freecs name, with a very modest initial capital of just a few hundred thousand dollars — to be compared with the tens of millions injected into T1 or Gen.G around the same time. The team launched in start-up mode, leaning on its streaming platform parent.
In 2020, Seo Soo-gil, founder of Afreeca Freecs, was asked about the team's profitability and declared:
"Yes, we are losing money. But sporting results are not what matters. Afreeca Freecs' goal has never been to climb the LCK standings to grow the value of the company."
Then came 2021-2022, two dark years: massive losses, emergency recapitalization by the parent company — a classic esports script.
2023 brought a return to profit. And 2024 was the miracle year: 52 % net margin, dramatic deleveraging, the parent's investment value fully restored on its books — territory the team had never reached before.
2025, Third Year of Profitability
Revenue is down 18 %. Net income is cut by two-thirds, and net margin drops from 52 % to 21 %. In a single season, the team gives back most of the 2024 gain, but still lands a third profitable year on the board.
Add up every net income figure for the subsidiary between 2021 and 2025 and you land on a cumulative loss of barely anything — the equivalent of roughly 120,000 dollars lost over five years. Essentially break-even.
